Birthday Bags Idea

Hi everyone.  I wanted to send a note to let you all know about a new project I've started with Danny and Sarah.  Last time we were in Redding I read an article in the paper about a woman who donated childrens' birthday gifts to her local food closet.   She had volunteered a few times and saw some birthday cake mixes and frosting on a shelf and asked about them.  She was told that parents came into the food closet and tried to find their child's favorite cereal or canned veggie as a birthday treat because they couldn't afford a cake or gift.  The food closet tried to keep a few cake mixes around to give to those parents; and she felt she could do more.  The story really touched me and I thought maybe we could do something like that here in Auburn.  I went to the Auburn food Closet last week and found out that they didn't have a program like this so I asked if I could start one and they said yes.  As many of you know, the kids love to bake and decorate birthday cakes so we decided our "Birthday Bags" should include a cake mix, frosting, candles, tissue paper and a small birthday gift.  Giving a birthday cake and gift to a child who otherwise wouldn't have one is something Danny and Sarah can really understand and get excited about.  Today we dropped off 8 "Birthday Bags".  The gifts included 2 My Little Ponies, a Transformer Robot/Truck, 2 electronic math games with a book, 2 Lego sets, and a Polly Pocket Mall.  It was so fun to watch the kids put the bags together, figuring out which frosting went with which cake and which candles went best with the gift.  Each "Birthday Bag" was customized by Danny or Sarah.  The kids and I are going to put together a few fund raisers like a neghborhood car wash and a lemonade stand so the kids can "earn" some of the money we use to buy the goodies and I've been asked to put together a flier explaining what we're doing so others can participate as well.  I'm surprised at how this idea is taking off and I'm excited about Danny and Sarah being involved in something that will make a child's birthday special. It will be interesting to see how things go in the next few months.  I'm really hoping I can coordinate something that will continue on into the future.  I'd love to hear your ideas and feedback.  What I've received so far has been really helpful!  Wish us luck and I'll keep you posted.