Making Birthdays Brighter For Kids in Foster Care & Shelters

Birthdays are special for everyone. It's your day. And celebrating as a child or with a child is something special. Right?! We celebrate our children's birthdays in October and December. We celebrate them. And as much as we want to shower them with love on their special day, we are mindful that they, like many of their friends, have practically every need fulfilled. We also know that not every child shares the same blessings or even have a birthday.

But it's women like, Suzanne Gladden who not only saw this as a problem but did something about it.

She thought about a children's home close to home. Suzanne called the Texas Baptist Children's Home in Round Rock to see if birthdays were celebrated and learned that, sometimes a cake and gifts were donated. Sometimes they weren't. 

Without hesitation she pledged to donate a birthday party or a special gift for all the children at the Texas Baptist Children's Home. From there, she was able to get the community to step up and get involved. 

Suzanne knew she could do this by assembling a box with all you would need to have a birthday party: cake mix for a cake, icing, candles, snacks, decorations, napkins and plates, party favors and a gift. Here is an example:

Photos courtesy of Sharing Happy Birthdays

Here is a box we were currently making together in December. Since then we included a gift with a special card along with some paper cups and plates for the cupcakes.

The fun craft we included in the box are all the ingredients to make homemade play dough. 

Suzanne also reached out to her friends for help, with a list of directions on how to put the box together. She also requested that friends post and share a photo with their family with the completed box on Facebook to explain what they were doing. 

To date, Sharing Birthdays have made over 400 kids' faces that much brighter and a lot more special. From the Texas Baptist Children's Home, but teens at the Austin Children's Shelter, The Salvation Army, The Settlement Home for Girls, as well as the children at the CPS office in Travis and Williamson counties.

We think it's a GREAT cause. Our goal is to help give a child in need a Happy Birthday every year.

To get involved click here. 
Email the organization if you and your family find a date and would like to sign up. You can also sign up to create a box for a specific age, gender and theme that is not tied to a specific child. Once you have a date or have signed up to create a box, you can follow the specific directions here. 

"Life is beautiful, create a smile for a child with a Birthday!"