Children in homeless shelters across the country often go each year without a birthday celebration or a birthday gift.
But Dallas resident Paige Chenault is determined to change that.
In 2012, Paige Chenault founded The Birthday Party Project, which is a non-profit organization that brings joy to homeless children through the magic of birthdays.
Each month, they partner with homeless and transitional living facilities to throw birthday parties for the children living there.
Paige Chenault says: “Not every child has a home, but every child has a birthday.”
In 2015, the organization will host 180 parties- each one complete with music, games, entertainment, decorations, birthday cake, and a birthday present.
Every child whose birthday falls within the month receives their own party hat, badge, and individual-sized birthday cake, and a wrapped present worth approximately $30.
The parties range anywhere from $400-$1000 depending on the number of children celebrating that month. The project is made possible through countless volunteers and generous donations.
And every month has a new theme- September was “County Fair,” where each agency had either a petting zoo or magician on site, and this October is a Halloween-themed “Monster Mash” theme.
Paige Chenault remembers back to the first birthday party she threw in 2012 when a boy confided in her that he never had a birthday cake before.
“I thought, ‘How can a 12-year-old not have a birthday cake, ever?” Chenault said, and it was then that she knew this project was really going to change lives.
“It’s a mind-blowing experience,” says Nadia, after attending a party for her son at a domestic violence shelter in Arlington, Texas. “Coming from such pain and trauma, it’s so nice to be able to relax for a minute, take a breather and to see that smile back on my child’s face. I have no words to describe the happiness and joy that I am feeling.”
Chenault says:
“My goal is that each child feels something that lets them know how important they are, how much they matter,” Chenault said. “They deserve to be celebrated, that in this moment of chaos in their life, this moment of confusion, that there is light and that there are people out there cheering for them.”
[Featured Image Credit: Thisbe Grace Photography]