Boppa’s Whistle
Robert Bruce Aikens, known to his friends as Bob and to his family as Boppa, excelled in many things. He was a lawyer, real estate developer, sportsman, philanthropist, husband, father, beloved family member, and loyal friend. When he was 64, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the same disease that had taken his father. After sharing his fears with his prayer group, Boppa's friend, Hillary, told him to pray. To this, Boppa said, "I am afraid that God won't hear me." The next day, Hillary brought him a small, silver whistle. He told him, "When you are afraid, blow this whistle... God will hear you." Boppa survived his bout with cancer, and continued to use his whistle to connect to a spiritual force greater than himself.
In time, Boppa and his wife, Ann Snyder Aikens, gave each of their children, their grandchildren, and their children's spouses whistles of their own. They told their family to blow these whistles when they feel afraid and also when they experience joy. They told them to blow the whistles for themselves and for one another. As such, they became symbolic of family unity.
Boppa passed away in 2016, twenty years after his first cancer diagnosis. At his memorial, the family blew their whistles to help guide his spirit on its journey. In the Aikens family, "The Boppa Whistle" symbolizes unity, caring, faith and hope." This year, a one-mile walk around the Village of Rochester Hills (an outdoor shopping center developed by R.B. Aikens and Associates) was named the Whistle Way in his memory.
The family is extending the reach of this concept, as it partners with non-profit organizations with a mission similar to our own. The goal of our first project is to hope to inspire, encourage, and unite terminally-ill children and their families. We intend to expand our mission. To this end, we are looking to support medical research, environmental causes, and arts initiatives in the future.
Our first partnership is with The Rainbow Connections, a Michigan-based charity that helps make wishes come true for children with life-threatening medical conditions. This group also provides financial support to those "wish" families that are in need. On November 22, our organization will host an event at the Village of Rochester Hills for the Rainbow Connection. We will present 12 of the children that they support with their own silver "Boppa whistles" and present donors who donate $20 with a whistle that is symbolic of their participation. Our aim is to raise $5000 for the Rainbow Connection to use to make one child's wish come true. Equally importantly, we hope that the silver whistles will help all twelve children channel their hopes and fears. We want them to remember that they are not alone, even when they feel the most afraid.
The $20 symbolic whistle will be available for donation and pickup at The Village Arts Gallery at the Village of Rochester Hills through the holidays until the end of this year. All proceeds will go directly to Rainbow Connection.
