Doing Good Deeds #ForBlake: Continued's Robin Rodig and the kindness she champions in nephew’s honor
Robin and Blake in 2018.
Continued copywriter Robin Rodig joined the company in August of 2023. Her colleagues would tell you that she's incredibly warm, deeply engaged, and exactly the kind of person you want on your team.
Outside of work, Robin is part of something that has touched thousands of lives across the country and beyond—a movement that began in the most painful place imaginable and has grown into a wave of kindness that continues to spread.
It all started with a little boy named Blake.
MEET BLAKE
Blake Davis would be 10 this year. He was born in 2016 to Robin's sister, Leah, and her husband, Rob.
Robin describes her nephew as kind, loving, and playful, and as someone who exuded immense bravery.
On July 4, 2017, a seemingly healthy 14-month-old Blake was playing at a park with his family when he stopped breathing.
An ambulance rushed him to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. What followed was ten days on life support in the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU).
Their family’s entire world turned upside down in the span of an afternoon. Leah and Rob were now living at the hospital. Robin stepped in immediately to care for Blake's older sister, Scarlett, just three years old at the time.
"Otherworldly, surreal, unimaginable," is how she describes this season in their lives.
DO SOMETHING KIND
Robin and her niece Scarlett in Times Square, where the Good Deeds #ForBlake movement was featured in the iconic New York City landmark.
As word spread about Blake's condition, the calls and messages of support poured in. People wanted to help, so the family put out a simple ask: go do something kind for someone—a friend, a stranger, anyone—in honor of Blake. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. Just do it, and share your story with us.
The response was immediate. Stories started coming in of acts of kindness, moments of generosity, and small gestures—a surprise coffee purchase for the next person in line, an encouraging note tucked under a windshield wiper, bags filled with essentials to share with those in need.
While Blake was on life support, Leah and Rob would sit with him, hold his hand, and read him the stories of the impact he was making in the world.
After nearly three months at Rady Children's, Blake came home. But the crisis had revealed something serious: Blake had pulmonary hypertension, a severe heart and lung condition, rare in pediatrics, that would require constant, careful management.
Medications. Appointments across six medical disciplines. A PICC line. Oxygen at home. A 24-hour infusion.
Through it all, Robin said Blake remained brave and loving.
"His bravery gave me what I needed to be strong,” Robin said.
In December 2018, Blake stopped breathing again. The family found themselves back in Rady’s CTICU, and this time, the news was graver. Blake would need a lung transplant to survive. He and Leah were flown to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston to await transplant approval.
On January 2, 2019, the transplant team unanimously approved Blake as a transplant candidate.
That same day, he passed away. He was two years old.
BLAKE’S LEGACY
Pictured: Sisters Skye and Scarlett Davis at Blake's memorial at Rady Children's Hospital, where his spirit of kindness continues to inspire the work of Good Deeds #ForBlake. Skye (left), lovingly called the family's "rainbow baby" for being born after her brother's passing, is growing up knowing Blake through the wave of kindness he left behind.
In 2022, Good Deeds #ForBlake became a registered nonprofit, with Robin a member of the board. The mission was clear: keep Blake's legacy of kindness alive, and keep building a world where people are moved to do good in everyday moments.
"We never expected it to take hold like it has," Robin said. "Knowing that our precious little boy sparked an incredible wave of positivity and touched the lives of thousands across the country and beyond is both humbling and unbelievable."
Robin is clear that none of this was ever meant to require a lot of money or a grand gesture. The point is to recognize the opportunities all around us to be kind.
The nonprofit has grown steadily since its founding, with thousands of participants doing good deeds in Blake’s name. Further, Good Deeds #ForBlake has set up specific initiatives that reflect the family's experience, including:
The Good Deeds #ForBlake Holiday Giving program reaches families each year whose children are in critical care units at Rady Children's Hospital during the holiday season. Last year, in addition to the CTICU, the program expanded to the NICU and PICU, reaching more than 100 families. Each family receives gift cards to help cover meals, transportation, self-care, and other needs that pile up when at the hospital.
Leah, Rob, Scarlett, and Blake with members of the San Diego Fire Department. Giving back to the first responders who showed up for their family has become a meaningful part of the Good Deeds #ForBlake mission.
The organization also has a deep appreciation for first responders, as firefighters and medics were there for Blake's family more than once. Good Deeds #ForBlake completed the Fire Safety Education Bins project with the San Diego Fire Department, customizing and delivering 53 bins—one for every fire station in San Diego County—filled with hands-on teaching props for fire and safety education.
The Comfort Cart, launched in partnership with Rady's CTICU, keeps families at the hospital stocked with needed essentials such as toothbrushes, phone chargers, hair ties, socks, and tissues.
Boo! #ForBlake is a Halloween-rooted tradition of leaving a small, anonymous surprise for someone just to make them smile.
"I believe in the ripple effect of kindness," Robin said. "You never know how far and wide one good deed will have an impact."
If this story has moved you, consider doing something kind today. If you'd like to support Good Deeds #ForBlake, you can donate here.
At Continued, giving back is seen as both a responsibility and a privilege.
At Continued, giving back is seen as both a responsibility and a privilege. It has been part of who we are since the beginning, and it shows up in the people we're lucky enough to work with every day. Robin is one of many on this team who show up for others in extraordinary ways.Read about more team members who are making a difference.
