It’s no secret that gift giving is my love language – there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I love to give gifts, receive gifts, talk about gifts, talk about giving, and plan parties which indeed is a form of gift giving. This blog has given me an incredible platform to share my thoughts and ideas on gifts, gift giving, and throwing parties. I was introduced to The Birthday Party Project over a year ago and knew I wanted to be involved someway, somehow.
The Birthday Party Project is a non-profit organization, which teams up with homeless shelters to throw birthday parties for all the kids in residence each month. My dear friend, Liene Stevens is on the advisory board for this wonderful organization and was able to participate as a birthday enthusiast (the name for their volunteers) in January and you can read more about her experience here.
Finding solutions to the problem of homelessness is a staggering and complex endeavor, but it’s one that’s being tackled. Poverty is more than economic and finding solutions requires a both/and approach rather than either/or. Felt needs AND emotional needs need to be addressed. Skipping the emotional needs in order to focus just on shelter, food and clothing is an incomplete solution. The Birthday Party Project comes alongside people working on these complexities and essentially says to these kids, “Homelessness may be your circumstance, but it is not who you are. You matter. Your dreams matter. You are worth celebrating.”
Currently The Birthday Party Project works in North Texas, but is rolling out to affiliate markets beginning in 2014, so if you’re interested in bringing The Birthday Party Project to your city, sit tight, they’ll be announcing more information on how that works soon.
To celebrate getting involved with The Birthday Party Project, I’m participating with Liene (and hopefully all of you) in the #shareyourbirthday initiative this month. If you’d like to join me, Liene has put together a wish list for The Birthday Party Project on Amazon at party.pl/partywish. The list is filled with items they need to make these parties happen and all purchases will be shipped directly to The Birthday Party Project’s headquarters in Texas. And if you’re an Amazon Prime member, even better! You can buy the heavier stuff and not have to pay shipping! Win-win.
Our talented friend Kelly Ashworth has whipped up this handy infographic with some fun up-to-date stats on what The Birthday Party Project has been able to accomplish since their official launch in January 2012. Feel free to use it to #shareyourbirthday too!
If you’d like to tweet the wish list, the official social media link is partyp.pl/partywish.
And because (just like me) Liene loves gifts so much, if you make a purchase from the wish list, make a donation, or share the infographic via social media with the hashtag #shareyourbirthday during the month of October, you’ll be entered to win an official EAT SLEEP PARTY REPEAT t-shirt and a Penny the Pig party wish bank!
You can follow The Birthday Party Project on Twitter and Instagram at @bdayenthusiast and like them on Facebook for fun announcements. You can also download a copy of the #shareyourbirthday infographic in various sizes on Flickr.
Starting today, every time I plan a party a portion of my budget will go to buying supplies and/or gifts (give a birthday gift) for The Birthday Party Project.
I’m inviting you to join me in giving the gift of a birthday party to deserving children that will not have a birthday party without us. If you are unable to donate at this time, I’d welcome you to pin the infographic above and share on your social media outlets. Thank you so very much!