FREMONT, Ohio — A group of young professionals in Sandusky County is making sure no child goes without a proper birthday party.
"It's crazy to think what all we take for granted; something as simple as a 'Happy Birthday' plate that they can eat their cake off of," Andrea Gibson with Sandusky County Young Professionals said.
Three years ago, Gibson and her husband took in three children as kinship providers. Through that process, she realized that for many of the kids in the care of the Sandusky County Dept. of Job and Family Services, celebrating birthdays tends to sometimes slip through the cracks.
In response, she helped launch the "Giving Birthdays" program through the Sandusky County Young Professionals group.
Every month, the group puts together sponsored birthday boxes, including a birthday cake, birthday plates, candles and gift ideas for each child.
"We would really love for every single one of those kids to know that they are worthy, and let the caregivers know they we support them - that there are people out there that understand, and that they can reach out to us if they need anything," Gibson said.
Each box costs between $75 - $100, and to date, 40 of the roughly 90 children in the care of Sandusky County Job and Family Services are registered.
The goal is to get not only every child in the county services on board to celebrate their big day, but hopefully, the project can spread and take hold in other counties as well.
They are always looking for more box sponsorships, or even direct donations to buy more gifts for siblings and even the caretakers.
"That way everybody kind of feels special throughout that day too, or to provide some urgent birthday requests for the birthday boxes as well," Gibson said.
Click HERE to sign up to sponsor a birthday box, donate gifts for those boxes, or if you care for a foster child in Sandusky County, to sign them up to receive a birthday box.
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