HOLY COW! Our first born is turning five, and while some of us are busy weeping into our shirts others of us are looking to the next round of birthday boxes like normal parents!

If you're new to this, check out our original post from way back in the day when we introduced this project. You know I'm wordy, so here's the gist: we decided that all kids, regardless of their financial situation, deserve to be the center of the universe for at least one day a year. So, we created Birthday Box Jackson, and partnered our friends at Stewpot to pass out these portable birthday parties to families in need. BBJ supplies Stewpot's food pantry visitors with a box containing everything one needs for a fun, over-sugared celebration. We use Sam's birthday as a fundraising opportunity to gather the goods we need in lieu of birthday gifts. It's our favorite, and we think our friends are pretty fond of it, too.

Believe it or not, the original post is EVEN WORDIER.

Here's what we're asking for:

• birthday cake mix

• frosting

• candles

• party hats

• confetti

• small party favors 

• birthday cards

• reasonable (as if there is such a thing) noisemakers

• paper decorations
• wrapping paper (to wrap the boxes before we ship them out to Stewpot)

We politely request that you refrain from donating silly string, poppers, and perishables. If you have any questions, you can email us at birthdayboxjxn@gmail.com or leave your query in the comments section.

See y'all soon!

Hey Wow Sam is Turning Four!

Hello, friends! It's that time of year again! Sam's FOURTH birthday is May 13, 2016 and that means it's time for another annual Birthday Box drive! For more information on what exactly is going on here, check out our original post. Thanks so much for participating!

Here's what we're asking for:

• birthday cake mix

• frosting

• candles

• party hats

• confetti

• small party favors 

• birthday cards

• reasonable (as if there is such a thing) noisemakers

• paper decorations

We politely request that you refrain from donating silly string, poppers, and perishables. If you have any questions, you can email us at birthdayboxjxn@gmail.com or leave your query in the comments section.

DONUT MESS AROUND: It's Hazel Taylor's Birthday!

Welcome, those of you lucky enough to know and love the Taylor family--and specifically Hazel Taylor! Don't be fooled by her persona as "Sis: Clinton's Sassiest Toddler!" Inside she is a big ol' softie, and is partnering with us to help bring birthday parties to Jackson's underprivileged children. We believe that every child deserves to feel like the center of the universe for at least one day a year, and it's our hope that Birthday Box takes the pressure off just a little so a family can sit back and enjoy a needed celebration. 

Here's how this works: you give us birthday party supplies, and we provide prepackaged birthday parties. It's that simple! You can either bring Birthday Box supplies to Hazel's celebration, or you can visit our Amazon Wish List and have those items shipped directly to our house. Last year we were able to give nearly 100 birthday parties to Jackson youth, and we're hopeful that we'll be able to crush that number this year. 

Here's what we're asking for:

• birthday cake mix

• frosting

• candles

• party hats

• confetti

• small party favors 

• birthday cards

• reasonable (as if there is such a thing) noisemakers

• paper decorations

We politely request that you refrain from donating silly string, poppers, and perishables. If you have any questions, you can email us at birthdayboxjxn@gmail.com or leave your query in the comments section.

Thanks to the Taylors for being generally terrific and allowing us to be part of Hazel's big day. And of course, thanks to you, dear reader, for being part of  Birthday Box. We think you're terrific, too!

EVAN: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Another in a running theme of our friends being the best, local pals Melia Dicker and Darren Schwindaman have decided to make their son Evan's birthday party a Birthday Box collection event. Thanks, Dicker/Schwindaman family! You guys are fantastic, and your kid is pretty great too. (Seriously, that's one of the finest faces in all of toddlerdom.)  

For those Evan Bash attendees visiting this page from Melia's link, two things: 1) SO SORRY it took us so long to get this post up, and 2) welcome welcome welcome! The short explanation for what's going on here: you give us birthday party supplies, and we provide (with an assist from the wonderful teens in the Beth Israel Temple Youth Group) prepackaged birthday parties for children in need. It's that simple! You can either bring Birthday Box supplies to Evan's party, or you can visit our Amazon Wish List and have those items shipped directly to our house. Last year we were able to give nearly 100 birthday parties to Jackson youth, and we're well on our way to topping that this year. 

Here's what we're asking for:

• birthday cake mix
• frosting
• candles
• party hats
• confetti
• small party favors
• birthday cards
• reasonable (as if there is such a thing) noisemakers
• paper decorations

We politely request that you refrain from donating silly string, poppers, perishables, or gender-specific toys/decorations. Also, there is no need to bring the items all packaged together or pre-sorted into birthday favors; we do all the sorting and packaging for you!

If you have any questions, you can email us at birthdayboxjxn@gmail.com or leave your query in the comments section.

A big thank you to Melia, Darren, and Evan for their partnership, and an even bigger thank you to those of you who will help expand the project through your donation. 

Happy Birthday, Evan! See you Sunday! 

It's Sammer Time

aka Samuel Isaac is having his THIRD birthday party this weekend! I can't even believe it, y'all. Anyway...

For those of you who are new to the blog, welcome! This is how we share information with our Birthday Box friends, both new and old, about our project's progress. If you're not familiar with Birthday Box, here's the rundown: we collect party supplies, assemble them in cute boxes, and voila - birthday parties for children who might not otherwise have them. You can read more about the inception of the project here, but the gist is this: every child, regardless of their station in life, should feel like the center of the universe for at least one day each year. These little boxes brought joy and color and love into the lives of nearly 100 children last year, and we hope to crush that number in our second year.

We've partnered with Stewpot Community Services on this endeavor, who pass out the boxes through their food pantry. With your help, we can expand the program to include their other ministries.

There are several ways you can donate:

• via our Amazon Wish List
• by bringing them to Sam's birthday party
• by holding your own Birthday Box donation party like our friend Reva!

If you've got questions, let us know. We're available at birthdayboxjxn@gmail.com or in the comments below. Thanks for reading, and for joining the party. 

Love,

Hannah + Abram + Sam + Mister Zeb

HELLO, ATLANTA! Or: Welcome, Friends of Reva!

As you all know, the running theme of our blog posts is being overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of our friends and family. Today's entry is no exception as we welcome some new Birthday Box Buddies all the way from Atlanta. Longtime FOOF (Friend of Orlansky Family) Hannah Hart Martin and her husband, Will (also a FOOF, if less long-time), contacted us about using their sweet Reva Pearl's birthday celebration as a Birthday Box fundraiser. We, of course, were floored (again) and thrilled (again) to take this fiesta over state lines. 

So, welcome Reva Revelers! Here's how this works: you give us birthday party supplies, and we provide prepackaged birthday parties for children in need. It's that simple! You can either bring Birthday Box supplies to Reva's celebration, or you can visit our Amazon Wish List and have those items shipped directly to our house. Last year we were able to give nearly 100 birthday parties to Jackson youth, and we're hopeful that we'll be able to crush that number this year. 

Here's what we're asking for:

• birthday cake mix
• frosting
• candles
• party hats
• confetti
• small party favors
• birthday cards
• reasonable (as if there is such a thing) noisemakers
• paper decorations

We politely request that you refrain from donating silly string, poppers, and perishables.

If you have any questions, you can email us at birthdayboxjxn@gmail.com or leave your query in the comments section.

A big thank you to the Martins for their partnership, and an even bigger thank you to those of you who will help expand the project through your donation. 

Happy Birthday Reva Pearl! We love you, kid. 

It's That Time Again!

Friends! The bad news is that we've done a really terrible job of keeping y'all updated on our progress. The good news is that we, thanks to your unending support and generous donations, have done a much better job providing Jackson children with nearly ONE HUNDRED birthday boxes. Between donations given around Sam's birthday last year, great work by the teens of Beth Israel Temple Youth (BITY), and some help from our friends at St. Andrew's Episcopal School, we were able to create 85 boxed birthday parties.

As you know, this was never intended to be a one and done project; and we are excited to share that it's fundraising time again! You can continue to donate directly to the project via our Amazon Wish List, and if you're local you can drop your donation by the house. Just give either of us a call (actually text because Hannah is terrified of telephones) and let us know when you'd like to come by.

Just in case you need a reminder, here's what we're looking for: 

• birthday cake mix
• frosting
• candles
• party hats
• confetti
• small party favors
• birthday cards
• reasonable (as if there is such a thing) noisemakers
• paper decorations

We politely request that you refrain from donating silly string, poppers, and perishables.

Sam's birthday party will continue to be an opportunity for his friends and family to donate Birthday Box supplies, and this year we're pretty jazzed that he might actually grasp the concept of what's happening. There's been a lot of birthday party talk around our house (remember: Hannah is obsessed with birthdays and starts talking about them months in advance) and we're looking forward to having Sam participate in a new way this year. Speaking of participating in new ways, we're so grateful to Sam's buddy, Harry Hayslett, who has asked that his birthday party guests also bring Birthday Box donations in lieu of a gift! To say that we continue to be overwhelmed by the support of our friends and family is both redundant (see: every other blog post) and an accurate understatement. One example of this incredibly supportive network of ours: before we even began publicizing this year's fundraising, a birthday banner appeared in our mailbox. I told y'all - it's overwhelming.

Sam's ready. Are you ready? 

Let's get this party started.