A great day for the Irish — and Bella’s Bumbas

What fun today was.

I was honored to help represent Bella’s Bumbas at the Rochester St. Patrick’s Day Parade Saturday afternoon. I was one of more than twenty friends, family members and volunteers who braved the cold temperatures and strong winds to help Marty Parzynski and Rebecca Orr celebrate Bella’s Bumbas’ selection as this year’s Charitable Organization of the Year.

This incredible all-volunteer organization, which calls Webster home, was recognized for their work building pint-sized wheelchairs for children with a variety of disabilities, only charging the parents for shipping (and sometimes not even that). In the last nine years they’ve made about 3,800 chairs and shipped them to 70 countries.

And yes, it definitely was cold. But the worst of the winds had died down a bit, the sun was trying to peek through the clouds, and as long as you kept moving (and had thought to wear three or four layers), it was comfortable enough. Thousands lined the parade route despite the cold, most everyone wearing some sort of Irish-themed hat or t-shirt, shamrock-shaped glasses or green tights … or all at the same time. There were LOTS of kids, lots of flag waving, and everyone was smiling.

The Bella’s Bumbas float was pretty great. It was covered in bunting and flags and streamers. Several children sat inside the wagon on hay bales, and others rode Bumba wheelchairs as they were pushed down the street by helpful adults. Six more Bumba chairs were strapped to the top, illustrating the great variety of designs which Marty and Rebecca individualize for the children they serve.

Given that our unit was near the front of the parade, I didn’t get to see much of it, and unfortunately, no one near us was blaring music loud enough for me to dance a whole lot, as I like to do. But all in all it was a great experience and I am so happy that I could join my friends on their big day.

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As a fun aside, this was not the first time I walked in the Rochester St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Back in 1995, my husband Jack and I were honored as the parade’s Business People of the Year, in recognition of our Irish Insider newsletter, which we began in 1992. Pictured here are Jack and me with our son Sean (then 5) and daughter Erin (not quite a year).

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(posted 3/12/2026)

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Tags: Bella's Bumbas, Missy Rosenberry, Webster NY