In January, the Children’s Foundation of America relaunched our Birthday in a Bag campaign to make birthdays extra special for foster youth.

Birthday in a Bag started out as a project by a few volunteers to provide birthday bags to our partner organization Trinity Youth Services. The bags were distributed to foster youth at Trinity’s location in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. With so many volunteers and donors participating in Birthday in a Bag, it has been expanded to an ongoing campaign supporting five of the foster care and residential sites at Trinity Youth Services, across San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.

Each month, volunteers arrive at our Upland warehouse to assemble the bags for the following month’s birthdays. We recently recruited Matthew Chavez to be our Birthday in a Bag Volunteer Captain, after having volunteered for the activity every month since January.

“I love gift giving,” Matthew said. “It’s a fun experience to pick a gift and create a bag for the kids.”

Volunteers are provided a list of foster youth, their ages and their interests to pull items from our inventory of donated goodies. Volunteers fill birthday bags with cake mix, frosting, decorations, handmade card and a gift. Since the campaign began in January, 13 volunteers have helped assemble birthday bags for 40 foster youth ranging from infants to teenagers.

How You Can Help

The Foundation is collecting birthday items all year round including:

• Large party bags
• Cake mix
• Frosting
• Candles
• Birthday decorations
• Balloons
• Plates
• Cups
• Napkins
• Utensils

Birthday in a Bag items can be dropped off at our warehouse Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1326 W. 9th St. Upland, CA 91786. As an alternative, a $20 donation made through our website can also provide a complete Birthday in a Bag for a foster youth. Please consider making a monthly donation to help provide birthdays for foster youth throughout the year!

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Marie Maghuyop, Communications & Volunteer Relations Specialist
Marie creates content for social media, writes blogs and coordinates volunteer opportunities and events. She enjoys connecting with volunteers of diverse backgrounds and getting to know their unique stories. She has earned two associate’s degrees from San Bernardino Valley College and a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from California State University, Fullerton. In her free time, Marie loves going to Disneyland, writing, playing ukulele and board games, and dancing.