One Wish Project brings birthday parties to kids in homeless shelters, foster care
ANDOVER - Hannah Finn is naking a difference, one birthday at a time.
Hannah started the One Wish Project when she was just 14 years old. The mission is to make sure children in homeless shelters and foster care received the same joy on their birthdays that she was fortunate enough to grow up with.
"I've had some kids who haven't even had a birthday in their lives before and we're bringing them the first birthday that they've ever had," she told WBZ-TV.
When she started, the children she was helping were sometimes older than her.
"I just knew that these kids were in such a different circumstance than I was and just to be able to give them something that they may otherwise not have was really special to me," she explained.
Her non-profit organizes birthday parties for children and teens. It started with just eight kids in one shelter and her love of baking.
"I got a call three months later from another homeless shelter and they were like 'I heard about what you're doing over at this shelter, can you do it for our kids?' And they had 60 kids in their shelter. I was 14 years old and I was like 'Sure why not'?"
Then came the gifts.
"I found out that the kids in this specific shelter in Lawrence didn't get presents either, so it was kind of a lightbulb in my head, and I was like, 'You know what, I'm going to start buying gifts,'" Hannah said.
The children choose their own gifts and cake flavor. Hannah's made around 400 cakes since starting. She's now gone from using her babysitting money to fund the project, to having a team of more than 250 volunteers, multiple shelters and a partnership with the Department of Children and Families to celebrate thousands of kids. They deliver around 300 birthdays a month.
"I would go into the shelters and all the kids would come around and they were like 'My birthday is this day' and they were all telling me what they want, it was just really special," she said. "It's special to me to see these kids and just how happy they are. That's why I continue to do what I do."
The non-profit's goal is to do 1,000 birthdays a month and Hannah is hoping to expand into other states. They're always looking for more volunteers to help bring birthdays to children.
For more information, visit their website.