Birthday party is on the way!
Thirty minutes 1 the party, volunteers arrive and get to work. They make delicious food, prepare exciting games and arrange colorfully wrapped boxes on a table. Soon it's time to play the music and welcome the eager guests. They rush in, ready to celebrate.
Every month, parties like this take place at homeless shelters across the country. They're hosted by a group called the Birthday Party Project. This non-profit 2 throws birthday parties for groups of kids who don't have a home. For many of them, it's the first birthday party they've ever had.
Paige Chenault is the founder of the Birthday Party Project. "Everyone wants a chance to feel known and seen, and a birthday is a 3 time to make it true." says Chenault. She and her family threw the Birthday Party Project's first event in January 2012. "We realized our own community was a great place to start, "she says. Since then, the project has 4. Now it hosts about 50 monthly parties in 15 cities. More than 10,000 Children have celebrated their birthday at these events.
Eight-year-old Dipson is one of them. At the party held there in March 2019. Dipson unwrapped his gift: a new bicycle. "It was very fun," he says. But Dipson also says he has learned a 5 from his party: "You can get a bit sick when you have too much chocolate cake." he warns future party-goers.
Jamie Gates is the education supporter at the housing community where Dipson lives. The Birthday Party Project holds parties there each month. According to Gates, if she doesn't remember to tell the children the date of the next event, they'll 6 asking her until they get the answer. "Parents will come to the party, too," she says. "Everyone in the community loves it."
