News, Updates & Opportunities

December 2024

It's been a few months since our last newsletter; we missed you and are excited to get you up to speed on Birthday Dreams news. This is a very full issue and as we close out 2024, and ring in 2025, we have some exciting news to share and several special requests for your consideration.

Holiday Appeal

This year has been a challenge for many nonprofits, and Birthday Dreams is no exception. The good news is that we were blessed to celebrate our 15th anniversary this year, as well as our 15,000-birthday celebration. These are milestones we are extremely proud of. 

As we move into the season of giving, we are making an earnest request. If you haven’t donated this year, please consider doing so. If you have already made a gift this year, please consider an additional gift before year end. Your support has never been more important. A donation of even $50 can purchase age-appropriate gifts or a cake and goodies for an entire party!  

The link to our Holiday Appeal giving levels can be found here. To give, visit our secure website. 

Happy holidays and thank you for your continued support.

In-Kind Donations

In-Kind Donations are donations of physical items, as opposed to cash or stock. These donations are important to Birthday Dreams - they allow us to give great gifts that the kids will love. Our staff can spend their time serving more children rather than shopping for gifts. So thank you to all who donate and host toys drives for these deserving children.

Pfizer donated over 313 gifts valued at over $6000 

Sally Eastey donated more than 500 gifts valued at over $7600 

Melody Kolstad donated more than 100 gifts valued at almost $2,000 

Emily Egashira donated nearly 100 gifts valued at over $1000.

Pam Rosendahl held a drive for her birthday. She brought us 30 party supplies and 55 gifts. 

Community Events



In the past three months, local businesses and groups have held 81 events, where 690 volunteers made: 

• 4121 goody bags
• 485 party games
• 1143 party hats
• 475 ribbons
• 32 birthday cards

Our community events are not only important for the party favors created, but also for the matching funds companies donate for their employee's volunteer time. In the past three months, company matches for volunteer hours have resulted in $18,890 in monetary donations to Birthday Dreams. We are so grateful for the amazing outpouring of community support.

On November 14, The Edgewater Hotel held a volunteer event where they donated and assembled 300 Goody Bags. Thank you!

Shout out to the teams at Microsoft, who did a total of 25 events in the past couple of months. Your unwavering support has made all of the difference. We appreciate you!

Michelle Oord, learned about Birthday Dreams while volunteering at the King County Crisis Line, where she referred callers to Mary’s Place as needed. She started following Mary's Place on social media, the program stood out to her. When she saw Mary's Place post about Birthday Dreams, she knew she wanted to get involved. Michelle says, “I love children, I loved creating themed birthday parties for my children while they grew up and I have intermittently volunteered for activities to help people experiencing homelessness. This was a trifecta AH-HA moment for me.”

Michelle started volunteering with Birthday Dreams in July 2023, curling ribbons at home and picking one or two teenagers each month to donate birthday gifts to. "I choose teenagers because I understand how it feels to not have a permanent home as a teen, and I remember how I felt on my birthdays. (I was a foster child)." Later in 2023, Michelle signed up to volunteer at a party at Mary's Place in Burien. She found the party coordinator welcoming and there was a nice system in place for the monthly group celebrations; so, when the coordinator stepped down, Michelle readily agreed to take over.

Michelle says that she loves seeing the kids light up when they see it is party day. She enjoys getting to know the children’s names and interests and engaging with them. There is always a big need for help at the parties. She shared this advice about getting involved, “If someone is interested, please try it! It's not a huge commitment. You can start small like I did and see if it is a fit for you. I talk to my friends, acquaintances and strangers about Birthday Dreams all the time, hoping to connect with people who might find as much fulfillment in participating in this as I do.”

Michelle, lives in Renton with her husband, has four grown children and recently became a grandmother. Between her family, her job as a Principal IT Security Engineer for Verizon and Birthday Dreams, she stays very busy but still makes time for other things she enjoys including travel, fishing and cooking.

Thank you, Michelle, for all you do. You inspire us and we appreciate you! 

A sweet girl turning 13 received this M&M Art Cake made by Holly Mihalyo along with a fragrance set, a Little Wordy game and at Target gift card provided by Melody Kolstad. Thank you Daniel Brewis for making the special delivery.

Jodi Mecham's Avengers cake was a Marvel-ous surprise for a little boy turning 5. Friends of Birthday Dreams donated a Superman bubble bath set, PJ Masks game, a 70-piece MagBlock set and more. Daniel Brewis made the delivery.

This fun cupcake cake by Eileen Wang, was a special treat for a baby boy's first birthday. Friends of Birthday Dreams donated Cat & Jack joggers, an activity sorting castle, Jazzy saxophone, and assorted toys and Gina Myrick made the delivery.

Seahawks Cake by Margaret Eckstrom

Butterflies Cake by Jackie Muir

Gaming Cake by Chris Wells

Rainbow Cake by Jill Slabey

Tie Dye Cake by Cherrie Smith

Dinosaurs Cake by Jamie Kang

Click here to see our complete "Awesome Cakes" gallery.

New Opportunities to Get Involved 

Are you or someone you know interested in serving on a committee, helping with community events, or serving on our Board of Directors? We'd love to hear from you. We are actively recruiting individuals who are interested in volunteering their time and talent for our cause.

Birthday Dreams Committees

Marketing & Development Committee

A fundraising and marketing-oriented committee, which meets virtually the last Wednesday of every other month. We are looking for individuals who have knowledge of best practices in marketing and fundraising. If interested, contact Jarod Drozdowski. 

Gala of Dreams Steering Committee

Soley focused on all aspects of our annual Gala fundraiser. If interested, contact: Jarod Drozdowski. 

Community Events

Would your place of work like to get employees involved to bring some birthday joy? Birthday Dreams would be thrilled to make that happen! Check out more information on this program HERE If interested, contact Leah Battin. 

Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors currently has a few seats open. We are looking for qualified, highly motivated individuals to serve as board members for two-year terms, which may be renewed indefinitely.  

Please visit our Board webpage or reach out to Janet Barker if you are interested in more information and for Board application details.

Bookkeeper Needed



Looking for a significant way to give of your time? Good with finances? Birthday Dreams is looking for a volunteer bookkeeper. The position is about 15-20 hours/week and will require QuickBooks experience.

Volunteer Orientation and Opportunities

If you are interested in volunteering for Birthday Dreams or participating in community service projects / team building events, please email our Community Event Coordinator Leah Battin.

If you are a new volunteer, sign up to attend a brief in-person or virtual orientation by emailing Heidi Singh. In-person orientations are generally held on the second Saturday and third Tuesday of every month, and the virtual orientations are available upon request. 

• Tuesday, December 17 @ 6pm (virtual)
• Saturday, January 11 @ 11am (in person)
• Tuesday, January 21 @ 6pm (virtual)

Follow us on Facebook! Cake and delivery needs are posted weekly, in addition to other posts about what’s happening. A list of upcoming parties and party needs can be found here. 

Onsite Party Volunteers | Immediate Need for Help

To continue hosting parties at the shelters, we need volunteers to attend these very fun birthday celebrations. Without volunteers, we will need to cancel these parties. If you are able to help volunteer, please sign up to assist. Prior to signing up, please make sure to read the descriptions and notes to see if there are any restrictions (i.e., age requirement).

Volunteers currently needed at the following shelters:

• Sunday, December 15 from 1pm - 3pm at Mary's Place in Burien
• Sunday, January 26 from 1pm - 3pm at Mary's Place in Burien
• Wednesday, January 26 from 6pm - 8pm YMCA Passage Point in Maple Valley

Office and Party Supply Needs

Did you know that you can use Amazon to set up automatic donations? Just select “Subscribe and Save” to make an automatic order monthly for Birthday Dreams and select the Birthday Dreams address when you check out! It’s an easy way to support our office needs and help Birthday Dreams in a big way. Check out the Amazon Wish List for more ideas. 

A big Birthday Dreams thank you to all of our new and renewing Birthday Club members over the past three months. A complete list of our 2024 Birthday Club Members can be found on our Birthday Club page. If you are not a current Birthday Club member, please consider joining us in 2024. Click here to donate.

Alexa Medhus

Benjamin & Amy Hartman

Crane Charitable Funds

Danielle Smith

Dawn and JayDee Dohrmann

Elton and Emily Smith

Greg Anderson

Hazel Miller Foundation

Jaime Kang

Jeff and Melinda Lawrence

Kathryn Guykema

Oliver Meier

Randall Morris Foundation

Ranveer Chandra

Robert Louden

Southwest Investment, Inc.

Sylvia Hawthorne

Tacher Family Fund

Amanda Howell 

Amanda Medhaug 

Andrea and Marcus Bates 

Andrew Sharpe 

Anett Meinzinger 

Angel & Julisa Cordoba 

Angel Almeida 

Angelina Minion 

Angie & Jimm Elliott 

Austin Miller 

Autodesk 

Barbara Del Beccaro 

Becky Nickels 

Belinda Morrison 

Benjamin & Sydney Tyree 

Bindy Naimdii 

Brandon & Amanda Lundy 

Carolyn Stalter 

Cherie & Josh Barokas 

Chris & Aileen McConnell 

Chris & Rachel L Hadden 

Christina and Mark Jarvis 

Christine & Michael Dotson 

Christine Barnes 

Christy Brogan 

Chuck & Melody Lynch 

Clay & Kari Perkins 

Damu & Jackie Maples 

Dan & Emily Sundstrom 

David & Jessie Kirker 

David & Mrs Kassis 

Debbie Lervick 

Dee Burris 

Eilon Lipton Emily Holm 

Eric and Alicia Young 

Gina Colucci 

Goutham & Sri Garimella 

Haleigh Whitehead 

Hans & Holly Rikhof 

Heath & Tonya Milne 

Heidi and Tony Leavitt 

Ian McClendon 

Jason and Sherry Schluter 

Jay & Katie Cleveland 

Jesse & Lauren Banks 

Jessica Nasset 

Jill & Paul Tyree 

Joe & Michaelle Sievers 

John & Susie Shepard 

Jolene Bolton 

Joseph Garcia-Powell 

Joshua & Sarah Gould 

Judy Lewicki 

Julie Lumpkin 

Kathy Silvernale

Katie Trout 

Keith Carter 

Kenny Macdougall & Sylvia Hawthorne 

Kevin & Erin Hancock 

Kevin & Maria Olson 

Kristen Christie 

Kristen Saint Clair 

Kyle & Haley Koceck 

Leah and Mike Battin 

Lyla Smith 

Lynn Erskine 

Marcia Austin 

Mark & Ann Roach 

Marsha Lake 

Mary Michael Charap 

Matt & Alicia Fox 

Matt & Anne Purkey 

Mechelle Lange 

Melinda Lawrence 

Melissa Fattore & Josh Bain 

Mike & Kimberly Sheehy 

Modesto Garcia 

Niki Weiss 

Nisha Rikhi 

Patrick Kang 

Rachel Brittany Saimons 

Rick & Teri Katzer 

Ryan and Tamara Berndt 

Scott and Aleana McMurray 

Shirlene Evans 

Sooji Hartzell & Tim Large 

Stefanie Niesz 

Teresa Kuzmer 

Viktor Boykos 

Warren Diaz & Eleazar Juarez-Diaz 

Wendy Larkin 

Windermere Foundation 

Alberto Cerriteno 

Enterprise/Taylor Charitable Entities 

Janine Chin 

Movement Foundation 

Rebecca Daum

Stephen & Mary Birch Foundation 

Verizon 

Windows of Hope Foundation