Coto de Caza parents honor son’s memory with new nonprofit organization
When Aron and Josette Rofer talk about their son, Bradley, they remember a boy full of life and love.
“Bradley was just an old soul, he had this generous nature about him,” said Aron. “He was a kind and giving person. I like to think that is because of us. We’ve instilled those qualities and values in him and our Jewish faith of tikkun olam, which is to heal the world.”
Bradley’s favorite book was “The Giving Tree,” and his parents said he really took the lesson of the story to heart. Bradley understood it is not just the recipient that is blessed but the giver too.
“When Bradley was 6 years old he started Bradley’s Beautiful Bouquets, which was a flower business,” said Aron.
He sold flowers from his mother’s garden for spending money, but even at his young age, he was compelled by a Facebook post about a sick child to donate his earnings instead.
“I was putting Bradley to bed and I had my phone and there was a GoFundMe page for a little boy. He had leukemia and he was 2 years old,” Josette said.
Bradley decided he wanted to donate his flower money to the child’s fund, and Bradley’s Beautiful Bouquets became a charity.
Then in September, Bradley was struck by a truck on his way to school. He sustained major injuries and was taken to Mission Hospital, where he passed away at the age of 8.
“Children’s Hospital of Orange County at Mission, they did a wonderful job of taking care of Bradley,” said Aron. “He was in the hospital for five days before he passed away and they just treated him like he was their own son.”
Bradley died just a few days shy of his ninth birthday.
In an effort to continue Bradley’s tradition of giving, the Rofer family officially turned Bradley’s Beautiful Bouquets into a nonprofit organization with the help of the community. A mother of one of the recipients of Bradley’s Beautiful Bouquets donations filed the paperwork to make Bradley’s flower business an official nonprofit organization.
“She basically filed and filled out all the paperwork for the 501(c)(3) and handed it to us on a silver platter and said: ‘Here, make Bradley proud,’” Aron said. “From there we recruited volunteers from the community who wanted to be part of foundation and part of the board of directors.”
On Dec. 12 the nonprofit held the Bradley Rofer Foundation Golf Tournament at Coto de Caza Golf Club.
“When Bradley passed away, we wanted to honor his legacy and continue doing the work that he was doing while he was alive,” Aron said. “The golf tournament is a great way to raise money to do that and raise awareness. We are going to be doing a lot of community events as well and we are going to be selling flowers similar to what Bradley was doing.”
The golf portion of the event was rained out and rescheduled for Dec. 19, but the raffle and live auction went on as planned.
The Rofer’s hope the organization will encourage other kids to be like Bradley.
“A big portion of the foundation for us is kids helping kids,” said Aron. “We want to be able to inspire other children to start their own businesses or other fundraising efforts so they can raise money for our foundation.”
“It is really about teaching the kids in the community to give, “ Josette said. “It doesn’t matter if you are 5 years old or 10 years old.”
The Rofers say working to create something good out of their loss is one way the family is staying strong.
“It helps us get through the days. It keeps us busy and gives us a purpose,” said Aron.
“And it is something we are working on as a family,” said Josette. “To work together with something positive for Bradley, on Bradley’s behalf, gives us a lot of strength.”
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