There were water balloon fights and a Velcro dart game.
Presents and a ring toss game.
Lots of laughter and even more cake.
That might sound like a typical birthday party for a tween or teen, right? But this birthday party had a special purpose for all of the young residents of Boys & Girls Homes with summer birthdays. It created a normalcy for them, a chance to mark their birthdays and celebrate with their Cottage mates in a safe environment.
Recently, the Supply nonprofit Birthday Wishes Ministry partnered with Boys & Girls Homes to provide birthday parties, cake and gifts each month for all residents and foster children -- all 119 children living in a 14-county area.
Ministry founder Jill Leach said she began the organization in 2021 after realizing that a lot of nonprofits were mainly focused on helping foster children around the holidays but not on their birthdays. In her retirement, Leach had begun painting so she sold her paintings as seed money to buy gifts for children for their birthdays. She even held art classes in her garage to fund the ministry. Now, the ministry has 150 volunteers that help with birthday parties in Brunswick, Pender and Columbus counties. Birthday Wishes sells goods at Crossroads Gathering Place on Oak Island to help fund the ministry, too. Soon, the ministry will start offering birthday parties in New Hanover County through Foster Pantry in Wilmington.
"We came away from [Boys & Girls Homes] feeling like what else can we do to help," Leach said. "It’s such a blessing. It’s just knowing that we’re showing that we care about the children out there and that they’re not alone." Included with each birthday card and gift are stories about God or Jesus "so they know there's hope," Leach added.
At the BGHNC birthday party, volunteers wore lime green Birthday Wish T-shirts with Matthew 5:16 quoted on the back saying: "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
BGHNC provided the month of each child's birthday and the child's first name to the organization to help them organize for the parties, but no other identifying information is included to protect their privacy. BGHNC's Foster Care social workers then bring the birthday gifts for the agency's foster children to their foster homes. Birthday Wishes Ministry has grown so rapidly in its first three years, they are now distributing gifts and creating parties for about 1,000 children.
"We like to be able to talk to the kids and see where they’re at and pray with them, if that’s what they want," Leach said. At BGHNC's party, the group took small Polaroid photos of the party and created scrapbooks during the party for each birthday boy and girl so they would have a memento to take back to their Cottages.
"We are so blessed to have you guys and all you do for the kids. I really felt the kids had a bond with each other," Leach added. "After the party, we went over to the Chapel and prayed for the children, and we had such an overwhelming sense of joy but sadness as well. I just was feeling sad that they have to go through this situation without a family with them."
Leach said her ministry volunteers are looking forward to the excitement of their next birthday party visits to Boys & Girls Homes in the coming months.
