Volunteer

How you can help


We need volunteers for all aspects of running birthday parties. You can volunteer to help out on the day of the party, or you can volunteer behind-the-scenes, helping us prepare for parties. Regardless of how you choose to participate, your help will ensure that a homeless child experiences a joyful birthday. Here are the ways you can help:
  • Throw a Birthday Wishes Birthday Party! an impressively growing number of young people are choosing to support Birthday Wishes as the "theme" of their birthday parties. We provide a template invitation, which invites all attendees to bring an item for Birthday Wishes to the party (this is done either in lieu of or in addition to gifts for the birthday child – its up to you). When you bring in your items from the party we'll take a picture of the birthday child w/ their donations for our newsletter. This is an activity, which our future philanthropists can really relate to!
    Download an invitation
    Download a Thank You card

  • Organize a Party Supply Drive This can be done at your home, through school, church, or scouts, or as a bigger community or neighborhood event! Set a date, designate a drop-off location and hours, and put up flyers to collect any of the party supply items we need – new gifts, wrapping paper, party decorations, and juice boxes. Click here to view an updated Wish List!

  • Become a Party Coordinator: our goal is to bring parties to as many homeless children as possible, but for each new shelter we add, we must have a volunteer Party Coordinator in place.
    Fill out the application
    Party Coordinator responsibilities

  • Be a Birthday Wishes Advocate: if you're involved in youth service organizations like the scouts or various religious or school groups, get them involved in our cause, too! We'll arrange for your group to volunteer at parties, or help us with the preparations for parties.

  • Volunteer your services as a face-painter, cake-decorator, magician! If you have a special talent that can be used at a child's birthday party, we would love to have you share that talent at one of our birthday parties. It makes the day that much more special for the birthday child.

  • Become a Volunteer Representative! We participate in many volunteer fairs, fundraisers and drives, and are in need of individuals who can represent us at these events to discuss who we are and what we do, so the volunteers understand exactly how their efforts are helping. Training is provided and it's a great way to generate awareness of the Birthday Wishes mission and attract more volunteers and donors.

  • Volunteer at a party: Our monthly parties require anywhere from 2-6 volunteers to help set up, engage the kids with crafts & games, serve cake and ensure a great time for everyone. Our party volunteers range in age from elementary school kids to seniors, so check out our party schedule and sign up now!

  • Host a Goody Bag stuffing party!
    Click here for Goody Bag stuffing guidelines.

  • Become an office volunteer: Assist with day-to-day office tasks such as data entry, mailings, answering phones, receiving donations, and organizing files as well as putting together birthday boxes.

    To become a Birthday Wishes Volunteer, please download and complete this form. For more information, contact our Volunteer Director Courtney Vernadakis.


Bring Birthday Wishes to your Community

Thank you for your interest in Birthday Wishes! We are excited and grateful that so many individuals share our enthusiasm for bringing the joy of a birthday party celebration to children in homeless shelters. We are currently examining the best strategy for expanding Birthday Wishes’ reach beyond Massachusetts, and invite you to be a part of this plan. Please complete the questionnaire (below) as thoroughly and thoughtfully as possible. Please email your reply to Susan Haviland, susan@birthdaywishes.org.

Click here to download the questionnaire.


Corporate Volunteer Opportunities

  • Sponsor a Shelter
    Your company can provide a birthday party to every child in a shelter of your choice for a whole year! With a $2,000 tax-deductible donation you'll not only put a smile on many children's faces, but you'll also be featured as a corporate partner in Candle Lights, the Birthday Wishes e-Newsletter, as well as on our website and in all other promotional material we produce. You'll also receive regular party updates and pictures so you can see first-hand the children whose lives you've made an impact on.

  • Adopt a Shelter
    This program pairs local shelters with companies willing to make a volunteer commitment and act as a Party Coordinator for a specific shelter. Participating companies commit to throwing one birthday party per month at "their" shelter. Anywhere from 4-6 volunteers are needed for each party and individual employees can volunteer as their schedule allows. Since the program is so flexible, they can even get their families involved. Parties take place on weeknight evenings – right after work. Party supplies can either be donated by the participating company, or picked up at the Birthday Wishes warehouse. Training and ongoing support is provided by Birthday Wishes. This is a great way for your employees to contribute to the community in a very tangible way while simultaneously bonding and team building.

    Beyond sponsoring a shelter there a number of other ways your company can support homeless children in Massachusetts.

    • Contribute professional services; Birthday Wishes welcomes PR, Financial, Printing, or any other service than can help us help grow
    • Donate Party Supplies; we go through a lot of juice, goody-bags, cakes & snacks, helium & balloons, Polaroid film, and piñatas, etc.

    Companies who donate or participate in any of our corporate sponsorship programs are featured on the Birthday Wishes website and in our e-Newsletter, Candle Lights. Please contact Lisa Vasiloff for information on becoming a corporate partner.