About Birthday Wishes

How It Started

With a simple act of kindness, Birthday Wishes was founded in the fall of 2002 by three friends who organized a birthday party at the Second Step Shelter in Newton, MA, hoping to let their own children experience the joy of helping others. The guest of honor was a five year-old boy. Neither his mother nor the shelter could afford to throw him a party.

Today, Birthday Wishes serves children living in more than 200 family shelters and transitional living facilities across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Long Island, New York, thanks to some 500 volunteers every month. Over 26,000 homeless children, ages 1-17 years old, will experience a Birthday Wishes party each year.

A combination of anecdotal evidence, academic research, and program evaluation tells us that birthday celebrations build self-esteem and provide a sense of normalcy not often experienced by homeless children. The Birthday Wishes program ensures that every birthday child we serve knows the day he was born was a very special day.

All of our birthday parties are run by carefully trained and background-checked volunteers, who participate as individuals, families and groups. Our grassroots philosophy fosters the spirit of volunteerism and community service in the adults, children and families who donate their time and resources.

Birthday Wishes is the first organization in the country to provide this invaluable service.

Birthday Wishes of Long Island

In 2008, Good Housekeeping published the first national news story about Birthday Wishes. After reading this article, Jamie Rapfogel, a social worker from Long Island, was inspired to contact Lisa Vasiloff, co-founder to bring the joy of a birthday party to the Long Island homeless community.

Birthday Wishes of Long Island began having parties in one shelter, and since then, it has expanded to serve children in over 81 local family shelters, emergency and transitional housing programs and domestic violence shelters.  This is in large thanks to our volunteers that tirelessly give of their time, party supplies and toys.