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blockparty Kids connect with friends over virtual birthday parties designed by a brother-andsister team By Chi ara Evans
T Harrison Stanley and Sophie Stanley have built 10 more realms since their first Minecraft birthday party in June.
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chapelhillmagazine.com
January/February 2021
wo East Chapel Hill High School students found a way to safely help children celebrate birthdays amid social distancing measures. Siblings Harrison Stanley, 17, and Sophie Stanley, 14, created DigiCraft, where they host virtual birthday parties through the online gaming service Minecraft. The idea for DigiCraft started in June when Jennifer Stanley, Harrison and Sophie’s mom, saw a parent’s post on Nextdoor seeking help to create a virtual Minecraft experience for her son’s upcoming birthday. “I was putting myself in her shoes and thinking, if I had a younger kid right now, and they were having a birthday, it probably seems pretty lackluster when you can’t get together with your friends, and no one’s coming over to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ or cut a cake with you,” Jennifer says. She asked Sophie and Harrison if they could attempt to build a party, and they agreed to try. On Minecraft, players build with blocks,