My parents always made my birthdays feel special. I don’t remember the presents as much as I remember the decorations, the cake, and the feeling that the day was all about me. When I learned that a lot of kids don’t get to have that same experience, I wanted to do something about it.
For my Henrik Lundqvist Foundation service project, I partnered with Birthday Wishes, a nonprofit that helps provide birthday celebrations for kids in under-resourced families. I raised $1,300 through online fundraising and two bake sales, and we also collected toy donations to give as extra gifts. With the money we raised, we put together 40 wrapped birthday boxes. Each box had cake mix, icing, candles, party hats, and paper goods, everything a family would need to have a birthday celebration without having to worry about buying the supplies. We also donated gift cards and toys to Birthday Wishes’ gift closet.
Assembling the boxes was my favorite part because it felt like I was actually doing something to make a difference. We even had alumni ambassador Cara Griffin come help us! I loved having other people from the community join in and seeing how many people were willing to give their time and help. Knowing that all of us working together would help make 40 kids’ birthdays feel special made the whole project really meaningful to me.
Written by HLFYA Michael Sommerfield
