Hope, for Karen Druziako, extends beyond abstract concepts or a motivational slogan. In her view, hope can be redesigned into something tactile, meant to be held in a child's hands. As the founder of Be Happy Dream Big, a nonprofit organization launched in November 2025, Druziako has transformed a lifetime of upheaval and an unfettered belief into a rising movement centered on the idea that happiness is not frivolous, and dreams are not optional.
The organization's signature offering is what Druziako calls the DreamBox. Each box contains prompts, colorful markers, inspiring stickers, dream-themed creative materials, and messages curated to encourage children to reflect and articulate what makes them happy. Distributed across the United States, started from just one box in Rhode Island, now across the eastern United States, with plans to expand globally, the DreamBoxes, in Druziako's view, are intended to empower children, whether in schools, hospitals, shelters, or youth groups. As Druziako and her team are expanding, they're realizing the boxes aren't only intended for children, but rather anyone who still believes in hope.
"There's a lot of negativity in our world," she says, "and most of us don't realize its negative impact on children. I want to show that there is hope, and through that hope, I want them to know they can have achievable dreams, putting a positive spin on their life."
Her conviction comes from her lived experience. Long before Be Happy Dream Big existed, Druziako had already rebuilt her life more than once. She once owned a recruiting firm in Manhattan, yet that chapter ended abruptly when a call from her mother's doctor changed everything. "I found out that my mother was battling leukemia, and my sister, a mother of three young children, was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. They couldn't take care of themselves," she shares. "I decided to sell my business, move home, and look after them."
Years later, as that chapter began to ease, another series of events intervened. Two serious car accidents, nine months apart, left her with neurological damage that caused persistent double vision. Not long after, a grave dog attack resulted in ankle injuries and multiple surgeries. The aftermath, she notes, included years in a wheelchair and a diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a chronic pain condition that impacts every aspect of her life.
"The pain is excruciating," she recalls. "But instead of succumbing to it, I decided to work around it. My self-belief remained strong against all odds. I knew that, no matter what, if I put my mind to something, I would succeed."
That decision became the foundation for Be Happy Dream Big. While hospitalized and later confined to bed, Druziako began experimenting with boxes, from the sizes to the textures, materials, and messages. Her vision was rooted in understanding how something small could carry meaning. It was shaped by a belief she has carried for decades: happiness precedes possibility. "The thing is, inherently, we're all meant to be happy. Even if you wake up as a 5, you can get to a 10 by thinking of things that make you happy," she explains. "What the DreamBox does, at its core, is help children realize everything that makes them delighted. That's how they can dream big and achieve whatever they dream about."
She points to her philosophy, drawing a clear distinction between adult gratitude and childhood joy. According to her, rather than asking children to name what they are thankful for, DreamBoxes invite them to answer a simpler question: What makes you happy? "Kids stand a little taller when they think about it," Druziako says. "You can see the shift, watching their posture and energy change as they name small joys, a favorite breakfast, a call from a friend, a silent win at home."
That same shift is what she hopes to spark at scale. She emphasizes that donations for the nonprofit have already arrived from across the United States and internationally, often unsolicited. "This is a movement," she says. "I'm not here to preach. I'm here to change lives one box at a time."
Be Happy Dream Big is driven by Druziako's belief that children absorb more of the world's negativity than adults realize, often internalizing conversations and tensions they cannot yet process. "I once heard my dad say he hated his boss," she recalls. "I then put in my box 'no boss.'" The DreamBox serves as a daily counterpoint, a visible reminder that they matter and that their aspirations are valid. As Druziako notes, "That's what I want for every child, to know that their dreams are real and possible. When a child starts to dream big, they learn to live big."
Despite chronic physical pain and financial uncertainty, Druziako continues to build, choosing optimism not as denial, but as discipline. "If I can do this," she posits, "anyone can." What may appear as bravado, she emphasizes, is instead a steady assertion that is deeply shaped by her experiences. "The DreamBox may be small, but its purpose goes far beyond its size," Druziako says. "It proves that even in constrained circumstances, imagination can continue to remain boundless."
