16. It's 9:30 a. m. Thirty minutes before the party, volunteers arrive and get to work. They hang colorful balloons, set up toys, games and activities, and prepare different kinds of food and gifts on a table. Soon it's time to play the music and welcome the guests. The kids rush in, ready to celebrate. Happy Birthday!
Every month, parties like this can be seen at some places for the homeless. The host, a nonprofit organization (非营利组织) called the Birthday Party Project, throws birthday parties for groups of kids who don't have a home. For some children, it's the first birthday party they've ever had.
Let's celebrate!
Paige Chenault is the creator of the Birthday Party Project. "Everyone wants a chance to feel known and seen, and a birthday is a perfect place and a perfect time in our lives to stop and celebrate," she says.
Chenault and her family threw the Birthday Party Project's first event in January 2012, in Dallas Texas. "We realized serving children in our own community was a great place to start, " she says. Since then, the organization has grown. Now the Birthday Party Project hosts about 50 monthly parties in 15 cities. More than 10, 000 kids have celebrated their birthdays at these events.
Jamie Gates, who works at the housing community in Minneapolis, Minnesota, says that the Birthday Party Project holds parties there on the third Thursday of each month. According to Gates, if she doesn't put up the notice for the next event at least five days ahead, kids will start asking her about it. "They love it, " she says. "Parents will come to the party, too. It's a really good time for them to sit and talk, and for the whole place to come together."