New Jersey nonprofit helps grant birthday wishes for children in foster care
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. -- There is a lot of emphasis on giving to children in need during the holiday season, but as one New Jersey organization points out, the need is there year-round, especially on birthdays.
A Birthday Wish, a nonprofit founded by Westfield resident Jane Hoffman, sends presents to foster children to make sure they feel celebrated on their birthdays.
"Primarily, children grant those wishes at their birthday parties or by donating money. Also, my daughters raise money at their school," Hoffman told CBS2's Meg Baker.
The organization partners with CASA, the Court Appointed Special Advocate of New Jersey program, to get birthday lists from the children, many of whom may not get gifts otherwise.
Hoffman's daughters are involved in helping, too, along with their classmates.
The Hoffmans started a club at the Pingry School to support the organization.
"I bring the presents with their ID tags and we wrap them once a month," eighth grader Avery Hoffman said. "Besides those wrapping parties, we also talk a lot about fundraising, and we also spread a lot of awareness for the issues in foster care."
"I like to decorate them, and I also like to take the time to write notes inside," sixth grader Blythe Hoffman said.
Ally Sartorius, a senior at Pingry, has taken over much of the heavy lifting. She creates social media posts and she says last year, she started buying all of the gifts every month.
"There's a lot of, like, Amazon and Visa gift cards, but often times, there's also a lot more specific gifts, which is what I really like because I feel like it's a lot more personal," she said.
Jane Hoffman says it's important to get kids involved.
"There's really no better lesson for them to learn than being compassionate and sort of having the empathy of thinking how would I feel if I was in this position," she said.
Sartorius agrees -- kids supporting kids is important.
"Especially because they're all children around here so it feels like they're part of my community," she said.
The group says their goal is to make these children in foster care feel special and know that their lives matter. They also advocate for better ways to serve foster children.
A birthday wish can be granted through the nonprofit's website by donating an item or money. For more information, visit abirthdaywish.org/birthday-wish-list.