Birthday Wishes

Since my birthday is in just a few days, I have had birthday on the brain.Growing up, almost every year, I had a birthday party of some sort and last year, I was even lucky enough to have my friends throw me a surprise party. Fortunately, I have great friends and family, who I know no matter what will celebrate with me on my special day.


But for the more than 3,000 homeless children staying in publicly-funded homeless shelters in Massachusetts, their birthdays often go without celebration. For the over 96,000 homeless children in Massachusetts, a birthday party is something a homeless child can only dream of.




Every child deserves to celebrate their birthday. This is where Birthday Wishes comes in.

The mission of Birthday Wishes is to bring birthday parties to homeless children. Birthday Wishes recognizes the importance of a birthday in a child's life and believes that the gift of a birthday celebration provides normalcy, joy and hope in these children's otherwise unsettled lives. The Birthday Wishes main office is located right in Newton Centre, MA, but have several other offices in Massachusetts, as well as other states.

There are many ways you can help out Birthday Wishes' cause:


1. Donate money, in-kind donations, or your time. Many of the wanted items include:

• Gifts for children 3 and under    
• $20 Stop & Shop gift cards 
• $35 gift cards for Gap, Dick's Sporting Goods, Old Navy, Target or Foot Locker
• Juice boxes
• Gifts for boys ages 8-13 (Red Sox/Patriots gear, basketballs, soccer balls, footballs, etc.) 
• Party supplies: birthday-themed gift-wrap and birthday-themed paper table covers
• Monetary donations
• Large birthday-themed gift bags
• Caran d'Ache face paints
• Batteries - AA and AAA
• Bulk supplies for Arts & Crafts projects

You can even look at the party schedule and see who the party will be for and what specific donations or number of volunteers are needed for that particular celebration.

2. Volunteer your time by:

-Volunteering your services at a Birthday Wishes party as a facepainter, cake-decorator, or magician. Any special talent you have could brighten someone's day. :)

-Becoming an office volunteer. Assist with day-to-day office tasks such as data entry, mailings, answering phones, receiving donations, and organizing files as well as putting together birthday boxes. 

-Volunteer at a party. Birthday Wishes parties require anywhere from 2-6 volunteers to help set up, engage the kids with crafts & games, serve cake and ensure a great time for everyone.

3. Throw a Birthday Wishes Themed Birthday Party! An impressively growing number of young people are choosing to support Birthday Wishes as the "theme" of their birthday parties. They provide a template invitation, which invites all attendees to bring an item for Birthday Wishes to the party (this is done either in lieu of or in addition to gifts for the birthday child – its up to you). When you bring in your items from the party to Birthday Wishes, they will take a picture of the birthday child with their donations for the newsletter.

Support Birthday Wishes on November 7th, 2010 at 5pm in its first annual Luminary Night. Simply light the luminaries on your front walks or driveways. Birthday Wishes Luminary Night is a special way to bring light and joy into the dark days of winter, while benefiting Birthday Wishes and the children the organization serves. Luminary Kits, can be purchased from Birthday Wishes, and will be dropped off at your home on Saturday, November 6. Each kit contains everything you will need for a dozen luminaries.

Birthdays should be special-- for everyone. Help the Birthday Wishes Cause. I think organizations like this need to be in every community. 

Have you ever donated or volunteered for Birthday Wishes or a similar cause? Share your story. I'd love to hear what impact you made.