Volunteer Appreciation BBQ Recap

On the 15th of July, we held a volunteer appreciation event at the Coal Creek Family YMCA (a Birthday Dreams partner). It had been a while since we'd been able to host an appreciation event, and we were so thankful to be able to express our gratitude to you all for all you do for the organization and the community. It is great to see the volunteers who are so vital to our mission.

The Birthday Dreams' staff are so thankful for all of our amazing volunteers! We hope to see you all again next year.

Huge shout out to the volunteers that helped put on the event. You were all amazing!

Thank you to the Coal Creek Family YMCA for donating the space to make this very special event happen! Your staff was great to work with!

We are excited to introduce you to our new volunteer coordinator,Tabitha Amoroso. We are so happy to have Tabitha on our team and cannot wait for you all to meet her.

We would like to thank Dalia Silverstein for filling this position when we suddenly found ourselves without a volunteer coordinator. As our executive assistant, Dalia was already wearing multiple hats, yet she willingly added the important duties of a volunteer coordinator to her workload. We appreciate all she has done and look forward to having more of her time on the administrative side.

A message from Tabitha:

"Hi. My name is Tabitha. My experience working with disabled communities has grown into my wanting to provide even more support to the community by helping those affected by unstable housing. I’m excited to be working with Birthday Dreams to better realize a happier, more loving world for those children.

Outside of work, I have three cats and a fish tank. I also help run an art group where we get to be creative. I love art, music, and video games!"

The feedback below was provided by a parent who was able to give their child a birthday party to remember. This is the second year Birthday Dreams has been able to help this mother, a domestic violence survivor working hard to get back on her feet, provide a memorable birthday for child.

“Everyone that ate the cake commented on how cute and delicious it was. The party game was simple and perfect for their age. The decorations were pretty perfect, and he loved every gift...He’s been coloring for days...The goodie bags were a huge bonus! Money is tight and this helped! .... We are so thankful that things like this exist because special days are so important, and these things matter! Thank you!"

When asked about her child’s reaction she said, “He was so excited because he was able to invite friends from school!"

Large In-Kind Donations

Thank you to the following companies for their donations last month:

• SeaMart Samples owner Helene Skibali donated upwards of 1400 gifts and toys worth over $15,000
• Patricia Tasakos donated 98 items (clothes, duffel bags, backpacks, stuffed animals, and shoes)

Thank you to all the individuals who donated to our birthday children this past month as well!

Onsite Parties

We always need help with onsite hosted parties. Since last month we've made some changes to the sign up. If you are able to help, please sign up here.

Note: Starting September, Mary’s Place’s volunteer age policy has changed to 18 and over.

Mary’s Place Regrade: Due to the policy change, Susan Huffaker and the Young Men’s Service League, Kirkland Chapter, will no longer be able to host this party. Kelli Jameson will take over as the party coordinator for this location. Our thanks to the Young Men's Service League for their support this past summer and to Kelli for stepping up to help! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED.

Union Gospel Mission, Hope Place: Shelley Helms and The National Charity League have graciously agreed to host this party starting September after doing an amazing job hosting the Mary’s Place Northshore party for over a year. They are sad to leave their previous beloved party and families but are looking forward to helping bless more children at this new location for them! Leslie Feller, will not be taking over this party, as announced in last month’s newsletter. We will look for another party for her to host moving forward. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED.

Mary’s Place Northshore: Also due to this change, this party will be changing to a non-hosted onsite party moving forward.

Each month Birthday Dreams receives grant awards from our terrific foundation partners. Without their support, we could not do what we do. Over the past month, we received grants from the below partners. We are incredibly grateful for their generosity!



•  Aven Foundation - $5,000

Crystopher Smith is the son of our program manager, Robbie Green. Here’s what Crystopher had to say about Birthday Dreams and why he helps:

“My mom started working for Birthday Dreams four years ago. I started coming in with her to help and soon realized how much of an impact Birthday Dreams makes on the community. I also can relate to these children, having been homeless in the past. It warms my heart to help others who have been in the same situation I have. It’s hard to feel special when you don’t have much, but homeless children can feel important with Birthday Dreams. I felt important when I too received a birthday package from Birthday Dreams when my family was homeless. It was the best party ever, so I want to help other kids feel the same way.”

Sandy Newbury attended a volunteer orientation in November 2022 and started volunteering for us right away. She has baked seven cakes and in addition to other donations, gave one lucky child every gift on their list. She comes in almost every week to volunteer her time wherever she is most needed.

We asked Sandy how she learned about Birthday Dreams and what she enjoys about volunteering. She replied, “My husband passed in November of 2021 and after the difficulties of moving forward with my life and the loneliness that followed, I saw a segment done by Chris Cashman on Channel 5 about Birthday Dreams and the amazing miracles created for children in homelessness shelters, on their special day. I was moved and believed that this was what I needed and should do, to fill the empty space in my heart! I applied and attended the orientation meeting, and I was hooked.