MILWAUKEE — Opening a birthday present can be exciting, but giving someone else the opportunity to open their own, can be even more special.
“I’m happy because it’s showing my love,” five-year old Gianna smiled as she packed a gift bag full of goods.
That’s the goal behind the Birthday Buddies Project.
In honor of Martin Luther King Junior’s birthday, the project, hosted by nonprofit Kids Impact Community, aims to help kids in the community celebrate their birthday.
“We’re building our birthday bags for kids in foster care in the Milwaukee area,” Maria Sartori, a project leader, explained.
“Kids in foster care, with everything going on, might not get the opportunity to celebrate a birthday. This is just an extra step to help them have a great birthday.”
According to data from Children’s Wisconsin, there are more than 2,000 children in foster care in Milwaukee County at any given time.
Kids like Gianna registered for the project, picked a theme, and packed a bag full of party supplies like cake mix, frosting, decorations, a gift, and a card. It will be delivered to a family or child in need.
“It teaches kids from a young age how to get involved and how to support other people. They ask questions and I see little things resonating with them. It’s pretty cool,” Sartori smiled.
Kids Impacting Community is a local nonprofit that offers monthly opportunities for parents to volunteer with their children.
“We found there weren’t a lot of opportunities for kids to be involved with parents in service projects so Kids Impact Community is all about ensuring your kids are involved,” Sartori shared.
The kits will be distributed by Kids Matter Inc. and Meta House in February. Both organizations help strengthen families through fostering or recovery programs.
The project ends at the end of January, but if you didn’t get to participate, there are several new opportunities in February. You can register on their website.
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