Mission & Vision
Since 2002, the mission of Birthday Wishes has been to support the social-emotional needs of families experiencing homelessness, by helping build a foundation for healthy self-confidence and self-esteem through milestone celebrations.
Our goal is to encourage and enable caregivers to host celebrations at their shelter, so they can show their child just how much they love and value them.
Our programs work in collaboration and in conjunction with the mental health support programming offered by our shelter partner network to address trauma families may be experiencing so they can restore family and community connections.
Our Values
Collaboration, inclusion, trust, dignity, and passion – these core values represent what we believe in and how we approach everything we do. We embrace people from all backgrounds, cultures, citizenships, experiences, and viewpoints. We will never discriminate against a person or group on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity and expression, marital or military status, or based on any individual’s status in any group or class protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
Our goal is to ensure that children experiencing the trauma of homelessness have the opportunity to celebrate their birthday joyfully, surrounded by family, friends and others who care.
How you can help:
Our Impact
Download our FY24 Impact Report.
“We are so thankful for the Birthday Wishes program! Birthday celebrations are so important for children and these milestones can be significantly impacted by the experience of being homeless and living in a shelter. The lovingly wrapped and selected Birthdays-in-a-Box provided by Birthday Wishes always puts a smile on the faces of the kids receiving them and supports parents in ensuring that their child’s birthday can be celebrated!” -Shelter Manager
Programs
Birthday Wishes works exclusively with homeless families through our partnership with a network of 200 shelters across seven states: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, New York, and California. Our shelter network works directly with families, domestic violence survivors, substance abuse recovery, and teen mothers.
Our goal at Birthday Wishes is to nurture the social-emotional well-being of families at our shelter partners by:
• Recognizing the challenges homeless families face while offering support and encouragement;
• Reducing familial stress by empowering caregivers to plan a birthday party to celebrate their child;
• Enhancing the connection between caregiver-child and the overall community through positive experiences and new memories; and
• Contributing to our shelter partners’ family strengthening programs.
We accomplish this through our current programs:
Baby BIRTHday Bundle is for expecting moms experiencing homelessness. The bundle is full of items for a newborn, including a diaper cake, onesies, blanket, bath items, bottles, and more.
Birthday-in-a-Box is distributed, via our shelter partners, to children ages 1-13 years old and their families staying in domestic violence safe shelters, hotels, scattered sites, and congregate shelters. Each box contains paper plates, napkins, decorations, goody bags, gifts, candles, cake mix, frosting and a cake pan. Contents are customized by theme, age, and gender to serve up to 8 people, so that families can invite friends or other family members to celebrate with them.
Teen Birthday-in-a-Box is for older teenagers 14-17 years old and is designed to give them a different experience than the younger children receiving a themed Birthday-in-a-Box. The main item is a gift card from retailers like Target, Walmart, and Amazon, which gives the teen the power to choose their own birthday gift. Other items included are a happy birthday cookie, candy, decorations, and other smaller gifts. The Teen Birthday-in-a-Box is more about having fun with friends and family.
Happy Birthday Snack Pack provides the birthday celebrant with a week of special snacks that they can bring to school to continue their birthday celebration.
“I wanted to say thank you for the [Baby BIRTHday Bundle]. It made me a little emotional because postpartum has been incredibly difficult on me, as I am doing all this alone for the second time. I’ve never received such a thoughtful gift. The presentation was really cute and no one has ever done something like that for me. I am super appreciative and thankful. Thank you for thinking of my daughter and I. It made my day. Genuinely, wishing the best for the person or people who gave me the gift.” -Brianna, Program Recipient
Leadership
Executive Leadership
Denell Nuese, Executive Director
Jamie Rapfogel, LCSW, Director of New York Office
Board of Directors
Mike Albert | CFO, Strategy Capital, LLC | Board Chair and Chair, Finance Committee
Jay Tata | Tax Partner, KPMG LLP | Board Vice-Chair
Glenn Ricciardelli, Partner, Madson, Driscoll and Damico | Treasurer
Neha Prasad | Environmental Consultant, MPH, CIH, ANP Safety Consulting | Clerk
Kathleen Chiong | Educator, Eliot School and Executive Director of Camp Campassion | Director
Thomas Emery | CFA, CPA | Director
Janet Prensky | Principal, Aigner Prensky Marketing | Director
Beth Ravech | CPRW/ Executive Career Coach, Ravech Career Services | Chair, Nominating Committee
Nicholas Warren | Founder & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Warren Residential | Director
Marc Wood | SVP & CIO Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance | Director
Financials
Birthday Wishes relies on support from individuals, foundations, and corporations. We are committed to operating efficiently, minimizing administrative costs for a greater impact on those we serve. Thank you to our donors who make our programs possible.
Click on the links below to view our:
Our Tax/ID Employer Identification Number (EIN) is 55-0856553.
For more information, please contact info@birthdaywishes.org.
“The Birthday Wishes program helps our residents with celebrating their child and developing a sense of community with their peers in the program. Last month we had two toddlers turning 2 years old and each mother was able to use the supplies in the birthday box to decorate the dining room, bake birthday cakes and have a joint celebration bringing the whole house together!” -Teen Program Manager
Community Partnerships
Birthday Wishes would like to recognize and thank the following corporate citizens for generously supporting our mission to provide homeless children with birthday parties.
