Birthday Dreams

Mission

Birthday Dreams brings hope, joy and a sense of self-worth to homeless children with the gift of a birthday party.

Description

Birthday Dreams partners with more than eighty shelters in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties to provide cake, presents and birthday cheer to homeless children. Many of the families we assist are trying so hard to just survive another day and the children have never celebrated a birthday. These children carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Birthday Dreams ensures that these children get one day to be the center of attention, and experience a simple moment of pure joy.

Birthday Dreams has been inspiring smiles since 2009. In the past 15 years, Birthday Dreams has provided over 14,000 birthday parties for homeless children and are organizing more birthday parties every day. We celebrated 1,525 birthdays in 2023 and are on track to celebrate 1,600 birthday celebrations this year!  In 2024, we will celebrate both 15 years of operation and 15,000 homeless children served!

Why support Birthday Dreams?
When we try to imagine the tragedy of being homeless from a child's point of view - you have lost your home, your possessions, being pulled away from your friends and school, not knowing where you will sleep each night, living in cars, on the streets, on the couch of a friend or in s shelter - it is heartbreaking. Thanks to wonderful volunteers and donors, Birthday Dreams is able to bring hope and joy to a child who has known so many hardships by making sure they are celebrated on their birthday.

A birthday celebration is more than one day of joy. The excitement of planning the party, inviting friends, and then the fun celebration all culminate in the spirits being raised. Children often find that because they invited classmates to their party, they are now invited to the birthday celebrations of their classmates. Birthday parties can be a great social equalizer. They can now feel like they are on equal social footing with their peers. They have something to look forward to and be proud to share with their friends. All these things together give them hope for a brighter future and inspire happiness. A birthday party is more than a party, more than a cake or the presents. It lets the child know they matter, someone cares and that they deserve to be celebrated. It creates happy, and joyous memories, during a difficult time in their lives. It gives hope.

The stories and appreciation that we receive from the children and families that have received a birthday party from our organization speak volumes. One parent recently shared the experience that her family had in sharing her son's 12th birthday with the help of Birthday Dreams:

"My 12 year-old son was pretty depressed in the weeks before his birthday this year.  He wanted to have a party with his friends but was aware that our situation would not allow for that to happen.  When I got information about Birthday Dreams from my shelter administrator, I got excited.  Working with the staff at Birthday Dreams was easy and they were really engaged/interested in helping me out.  Having the help from this amazing organization with the party gifts, cake, and supplies allowed me to afford to buy the party pizza and my son ended up having 16+ friends celebrate his birthday!  He said: 'This was the best birthday ever!  I had lots of fun!' My child was overfilled with joy and celebrating his birthday made a HUGE difference for my family.  Before it was a struggle as I had to choose between getting presents or having cake & ice cream.  But with Birthday Dreams help - we were able to have it all!"

Please consider a GiveBIG donation to Birthday Dreams.

Recognition

A big thank you to our volunteers, Birthday Club members, matching/challenge grant funders, and ongoing supporters who make Birthday Dreams possible. And thank you to our staff and Board members who make sure we have what we need, when and where it is needed.

Birthdays are more than a party, they are hope and light that create memories. To a homeless child, it could be the spark of joy that brings them hope.