Birthday Wishes – Bringing Parties to Homeless Children

I came across an article in my Parents magazine about a wonderful non-profit organization called Birthday Wishes, that brings birthday parties to children living in homeless shelters. Started in the Boston area in 2002, they now serve about 1,000 children in 65 local shelters in Eastern Massachusetts and Worcester.

Donations come from a variety of places, and hundreds of volunteers donate their time by either participating in the celebrations on-site or dropping off party supplies for shelters that do not allow outside volunteers. They have a great website, where you can sign up to donate time or money. You can even show support by having Birthday Wishes as your party theme. When you bring in your items from the party, they’ll take a picture of the birthday child with their donations for the newsletter. Check them out for more information.