Since 2002, the mission of Birthday Wishes has been to support the social-emotional needs of families experiencing homelessness, by helping build a foundation for healthy self-confidence and self-esteem through milestone celebrations.
Our goal is to encourage and enable caregivers to host celebrations at their shelter, so they can show their child just how much they love and value them.
Our programs work in collaboration and in conjunction with the mental health support programming offered by our shelter partner network to address trauma families may be experiencing so they can restore family and community connections.
Long Island Service Projects
For a child experiencing homelessness, something as simple as unwrapping birthday gifts and seeing their name on the cake has the power to make that child feel simultaneously special and like a ‘regular kid.’
Build a Birthday-in-a-Box (Long Island)
Please contact us to confirm our real-time needs before planning to build and deliver boxes. Contactless drop off hours are Monday and Wednesday between 10 and 2.
Does your group or organization provide opportunities for community service? Are you looking for a team-building event that can make an impact? Birthday Wishes needs your help to meet the growing demand for our Birthday-in-a-Box program.
The Birthday-in-a-Box (BIAB) Program serves children in domestic violence shelters, scattered sites and other programs which cannot accommodate Birthday Wishes volunteers. Each brightly wrapped box is packed with everything needed to celebrate a birthday including party and baking supplies, decorations, and wrapped gifts for the birthday child. We currently distribute over 120 Birthday-in-a-Box kits per month and have more requests than we can support.
Here’s how you can help:
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Let us know what you’re planning and get a copy of the guidelines. Contact us.
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Groups purchase specified supplies or host a drive and assemble boxes according to the instructions provided by Birthday Wishes. Customize to your budget. The approximate cost to build a box is between $10-$35.
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Arrange delivery of your boxes to our Hicksville, NY office.
Organize a Fundraising Event (Long Island)
Share your commitment to Birthday Wishes with your friends and associates by hosting an event at your home, office or in your community.
Below are some ideas of how you can make an impact!
Donate Your Birthday
Celebrate you birthday by providing a homeless child with a birthday party. Donating your birthday to Birthday Wishes will allow us to provide birthday parties for kids and families currently in homeless shelters. Create your own unique fundraising page and goal to send to friends and family! Get started here.
Host a Bake Sale or Car Wash
Raise funds by washing cars or selling pizza slices, candy, or baked goods at a school, sporting, or community event. Take the money you raise and make a monetary donation to Birthday Wishes, or go on a Birthday Wishes shopping spree!
Host a Drive (Long Island)
At our current service level, Birthday Wishes provides over 500 toys every month. Your group can make a difference by donating new, unwrapped children’s toys. Birthday Wishes has Toy Drive wish lists, collection boxes and flyers available. We are especially in need of toddler toys and teen gifts.
Please keep in mind that gifts should be appropriate for children who may not have access to a computer, yard, bath tub, oven or window/sills of their own. If a toy requires batteries, please include the appropriate type with your gift(s). Click here to view the items we cannot accept.
There are four easy steps to hosting a drive: plan, promote, collect & deliver.
Planning Your Mitzvah Project (Long Island)
Congratulations on reaching this special milestone! A service project supporting Birthday Wishes is a wonderful way to mark this special and important occasion. Our Service Projects offer one-time or ongoing opportunities to collect, create, and support our birthday parties. In addition, there are fun ways to incorporate these projects into your day-of event:
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On your invitation, suggest that attendees bring an item from our Wish List or make a monetary donation to Birthday Wishes in lieu of a gift.
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Plan your centerpieces and party décor to reflect a favorite party theme, supplies, or gifts. Decorations and centerpieces can then be donated to Birthday Wishes for use at our parties! Please contact us for information on suggested projects.
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Hold a supply drive or host a Birthday-in-a-Box Build out.
