Every child deserves a birthday. Families and kids build a “Birthday-in-a-Box” — cake mix, decorations, goody bags and a wrapped gift — for a child living in a shelter. It’s the gentlest first volunteering project we know.
Birthday Wishes started in Newton in the fall of 2002, when three friends heard that a five-year-old boy at the Second Step shelter was about to have a birthday nobody could pay for. They threw him a party. It was the first organization in the country dedicated to celebrating the birthdays of children experiencing homelessness, and it now works with more than 200 shelters and transitional living programs across seven states, with over 500 volunteers a year.
The kid-friendly project is the box. A Birthday-in-a-Box goes to a child ages 1–13 (there's a separate teen box for 14–17) living in a domestic violence safe shelter, a hotel or a scattered site. Each box holds paper plates, napkins, decorations, goody bags, gifts, candles, cake mix, frosting and a cake pan — customized by theme and age, and packed to serve up to eight people so the family can invite friends. Families, scout troops, classrooms and companies build them; your kids can pick the theme, decorate the box and wrap the gift. Volunteers also wrap more than a thousand gifts a month at headquarters.
The monthly on-site parties — one party per shelter celebrating every child with a birthday that month, ages 1–17 — are run by trained community volunteers, which is an adult role with a background check and a commitment. If you have a teenager who wants to help in person, ask about group and teen options rather than assuming.
Their family fundraiser, CakeWalk, is a noncompetitive 5K that ends in a festival with field games, face painting, live music and crafts — an easy way to involve younger kids before they're old enough for shelter visits.
More ways to help nearby: all kids' volunteering in Greater Boston · Natick kids' activities · Newton kids' activities.