Introducing...Birthday Box Jackson!

We love birthdays.

Like, really love them. Maybe too much, even. There's just something magical about celebrating the day you graced the world with your presence in the company of family, friends, and cake. It is our firm belief that everyone, especially a child, deserves the opportunity to feel like the center of the universe for at least one day each year. It is with that in mind that we've decided to partner with Stewpot Community Services to launch Birthday Box Jackson, a program that will bring packaged birthday parties to Jackson's underprivileged youth.

Recently, a friend approaching his 30th birthday was lamenting that the older you get, the less significant birthdays become. His brilliant (and stunning!) fiancée issued him a challenge: if you think birthdays don’t matter, then make them matter. He did, and together they raised over $13,000 for public schools in South Dallas. Another close friend chose to skip her usual birthday bash and instead asked her friends to help her provide toys and food for children at two shelters in Jackson. This notion of turning what is normally a really good day into a day devoted to really doing good stuck with us, and we think Samuel can learn a lot from his Aunt Natalie, Aunt Whitney and Uncle Chequan. That's why we've decided to launch Birthday Box Jackson in conjunction with Sam's second birthday; in the future we'll use his birthday as a way to rev up donation efforts to continue the project. First we'll tackle providing Birthday Boxes for patrons of Stewpot's food pantry but the sky is the limit!

So! Instead of bringing or sending Sam birthday gifts, we are asking our friends, family, friends of family, and family of friends to give Birthday Box donations. There are a couple of ways for you to do this:

You can visit our Amazon Wish List and have products shipped directly to us.

Or, if you're joining us for Samuel's birthday party, you can bring donations with you! 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.

Thank you so much for indulging us and reading to this point - we literally and figuratively can't wait to get this party started. We'll be fundraising throughout the summer and hope to start handing out boxes in the fall.

And please, pass the word along. This is going to be a huge undertaking and while we know we have an incredibly generous network of family and friends, we're going to need all the help we can get. If you have any questions, leave a comment or email us at birthdayboxjxn@gmail.com

One last thing - don't let this be the last time you visit the blog! We'll be chronicling our journey and posting lots of pictures to make sure those of you who participate are able to see our progress.

Thanks again, y'all.