It's a big, mean world out there, but within every small community, there are a number of everyday heroes taking on seemingly small causes that impact the lives of people far beyond the borders of their communities.

Wareham resident Emi Burke, founder of the Message of Hope Foundation, is one of those heroes. Burke was inspired to put the foundation together because of her experiences while taking her 6-year-old son, Conor, to the hospital.

Conor has been dealing with epilepsy as well as profound global developmental delays. He doesn't speak, and he is visually and cognitively impaired.

"When he was in the hospital being treated, I saw there were kids in the hospital with nothing" to do, explained Burke.

So, Burke developed "Happy Hope Bags."

Volunteers filled Happy Hope Bags with goodies — including Play-Doh, iTunes gift cards, and other items that can keep kids entertained while they're in the hospital — at the Gleason Family YMCA on Saturday, April 20, during the first ever "Hope Happens" Family Fun Day.

The bags will be given to kids at a number of Boston-area hospitals.

Music pumped through speakers, and children got their faces painted and their pictures taken in between helping the adults out with stuffing the bags.

In addition to providing the Hope bags, the foundation also provides children suffering with terminal illnesses and developmental delays with basic and life-changing equipment.

"Because Conor has special needs, I saw other kids in need of glasses and hearing aids, and it just didn't sit well with me" that they couldn't afford the devices they needed, Burke explained. "It's our job to help them reach their potential."

Volunteer Brittany Galuski of Taunton works at the Christopher Donovan Day School in Wareham, and was on hand to stuff bags on Saturday.

"I fell in love with her [Burke's] mission," said Galuski. She said she sees the mission as "spreading hope to those who have cancer and special needs."

The bags were originally meant for kids at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital, but after the Boston Marathon bombings, Burke reached out to Massachusetts General Hospital to arrange for some of the bags to go to children of people affected by the attack.

To learn more or to donate to the foundation, visit www.messageofhopefoundation.com.