 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Birthdays can be lessons in giving, not receivingBy KATHERINE SNOW SMITH
© St. Petersburg Times, When Jordan Weber turned 7, her parents were embarrassed by how many presents she received at her birthday party: seven Barbies; more than an hour to open everything. The next year, instead of dolls and action figures, Jordan and her brother asked friends to bring donations for the Children's Dream Fund. The party raised enough money to pay for a terminally ill girl's trip to Disney World. Jordan, now 12, has had a charity birthday party ever since. Her younger siblings are following suit. "It felt really good. I felt really happy for that little girl," Jordan said. "My friends thought it was awesome and some are doing it, too." A growing number of children are asking their friends to bring a gift or money to donate to charity instead of birthday presents. They are regular kids who, with a little encouragement from their parents, realize they don't need 5 or 10 or 20 more toys this year. They can have a party and still receive gifts from Grandma, Mom, Dad and Aunt Beth. I'll admit I won't try it for a couple more years. If kids don't remember their birthdays until they're about three, they should be allowed a few good frenzies of gift opening. But kids six to 16 could get a kick out of giving instead of getting. Jackie Stanley wanted a dance party with a disc jockey, dance floor and karaoke when she turned 13. Her mom agreed but said no gifts. So Jackie decided to ask friends to bring money to donate to All Children's Hospital in honor of a family friend's baby who had died. "We had a great response," said Michelle Hey, Jackie's mom. "The parents were very happy. The kids were excited." They decorated a collection box with a picture of the baby who died. About 35 friends came and the party raised $250. When Rachael Russell was in middle school, she and three friends with similar birthdays raised money for the Children's Dream Fund. "I think probably it was the most powerful birthday ever, at least on Rachel's part," mom Carol Russell said. "She felt like she was really making a dream come true." All Children's Hospital and the Children's Dream Fund receive donations from children's birthday parties about five times a year. The Christmas Toy Shop receives toys from birthday parties about 10 times a year. The Florida Aquarium and Lowry Park Zoo also are options for charitable birthday gifts. Children can adopt an animal or sea creature for $20 and up and get a stuffed animal or adoption papers to take home. This may be an easy way to get your child interested in charity instead of toys. If four friends each gave $5, your son can be the proud parent of a sea horse, wood duck or green sea turtle. If the party reaps $35, he can adopt a poison dart frog, vampire bat or python. And for $50, she can claim an otter, alligator, eel or leafy sea dragon. The aquarium uses the money to help pay for veterinary care. At Lowry Park Zoo, a $35 donation lets your child adopt any animal. They get a photo and fact sheet about the animal and their name goes on an honor roll in the zoo for a year. For $50, they get all of the above and two tickets to the zoo's annual party for adoptive parents. A $100 donation gets six tickets to the party. Both the zoo and the aquarium offer birthday packages, even sleepovers, if you want to have the party there. But you could still have one at home, themed around animals or fish and take your child on his own to adopt his new friend. Or have a dog or cat birthday and collect money for the SPCA. I've heard of parties where children bring school supplies to donate to their class instead of gifts. One birthday girl asked for shoes to be sent to needy children in Guatemala. Ardith Rutland, president of the Christmas Toy Shop, said she's seen a whole birthday party parade through the warehouse on 16th Street to drop off their donations. "We've had adults do it, too. When somebody turns 40, they tell their friends to bring them a toy in place of a gift since they're entering their second childhood," she said. People getting married for a second time have done the same. Whether a party reaps five or 25 toys, Rutland said it really helps. Families donating birthday money to the Dream Fund get a list of all the children waiting on dreams and pick which one they want to help. Some may raise $50 toward a dream. Others have group parties and make enough to cover all of a dream, which can run around $1,000. Stephanie Weber has hosted larger joint parties when they raised enough to pay for a whole dream and small sleepovers that raised closer to $100. "This year we did three separate birthday parties and collected from all three. We combined that to go toward one child's dream," she said. "Even if you don't raise the whole amount (needed to cover a dream), your children don't have to know." Her children loved getting a thank you note from a Dream Fund recipient one year and seeing other recipients' pictures in the Dream Fund newsletter. One child wanted new school clothes, another asked for a computer. Weber puts a picture of the child and information about their illness and dream on her children's party invitations. The kids get to pick out a present from the toy store from their parents each year and seem satisfied with that. Weber said they have never been disappointed when the party's over and there aren't any other gifts. "We wanted to teach them that it is also important to give and they have really loved doing it," she said. - You can reach Katherine Snow Smith by e-mail at Oliviachar@aol.com; or write Rookie Mom, St. Petersburg Times, PO Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks |
