Birthday Wishes Brings Joy and Hope to Homeless Children
By Cynthia Whitty
A Natick-based organization, Birthday Wishes, distributes 20,000 birthday boxes filled with goodies every year, and before the pandemic, was visiting 200 shelters in four states to bring parties to kids.
Denell Nuese, the executive director for Birthday Wishes, says that birthday parties are “a simple way to make a huge difference in the lives of children experiencing the trauma of homelessness, many of whom may have never had a birthday party or even seen their name on a birthday cake. It is our belief that every child deserves to know the day they were born was special.”
The organization began as a family volunteer project and grew quickly. In 2019, Birthday Wishes moved out of its Newton office to larger warehouse and office space in Natick to accommodate its growing operations. “Our current office provides ample storage for our gifts and party supplies and is conveniently located near major highways making our Birthday-in-a-Box deliveries much more efficient.” Nuese said.
Pandemic Challenges
The biggest change due to the pandemic, Nuese explains, was that “we had to pause our in-person party program for all shelters where our volunteers hosted monthly birthday parties. It was important to us that the birthday of every child we serve be celebrated, as the pandemic only added yet another level of complexity to the challenges homeless families face. We moved everyone into our Birthday-in-a-Box program, which fortunately we already had in place for our partners who cannot accommodate group parties on site, for example, domestic violence shelters or motel housing.”
“Our Birthday-in-a-Box program allows for a small celebration with family. The brightly wrapped boxes include party supplies, birthday gifts based on the child’s interests, goody bags for siblings, and of course, candles to blow out with their birthday wish. We fill an average of 200 orders per month. We are grateful for the continued support of our sponsors, including Hasbro and Village Automotive who continued to support our efforts by providing toys and funds to cover the monthly delivery of boxes throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.”
“We’re looking forward to getting parties started again and being able to interact with the families and children we serve. We are beginning the process of working with our shelter partners on timing and planning for changes which may be necessary in a post-pandemic world. We are also expecting our orders to increase and are focused on raising funds and creating new partnerships to ensure we are able to fully meet the demand for our program. Like everyone, we look forward to getting back to normal!”
10th Annual “Walk for Birthdays”
Birthday Wishes is hosting its annual walk and fitness challenge to raise funds and awareness for homeless children. The walk is one of the organization’s signature fundraising events, and this year, due to the pandemic, will be held virtually. Individuals can sign up to help meet the goal of 15,000 miles by June 6.
Participation is an easy and meaningful way to work toward fitness goals while giving back. Participants simply register (for themselves or a team), create a fundraising page, and start logging miles. Any activity that can be measured in miles counts—bicycling, running, or swimming. Individuals can choose their own personal goal and help collectively log 15,000 miles by June 6.
