Wishes DO COME TRUE
Text EM ORY C H AFFI N
Photography AN DY C A LV ER T
This angel and her organization are making children’s birthdays special.
36
v3 magazine B december 2017
It only comes around
once a year, and is gone again in a flash. Long awaited, often celebrated with cakes and candles, gifts and good times, a birthday is a day to remember. Friends and family gather to celebrate life and share memories on the one day a year most people set aside for themselves, the star of the show. It’s somewhat of a custom for many people that no one should pay for anything on their birthday when out with friends, and usually sought after items are delivered wrapped in bows and boxes. However not everyone experiences this generosity on their birthday. For whatever reason, be it the time of the year or the lack of means, some folks’ birthdays go forgotten and celebrations forgone. For a child this can be a devastating blow, leaving them heart broken and forlorn. Though a birthday shouldn’t be about the receiving of gifts, for many young children the gift of love and appreciation, and the gathering of family may be a little out of their grasp. They see friends, neighbors and schoolmates alike receiving gifts and having parties, and wonder why they don’t get the same on their big day. On a personal note, I can remember one infamous birthday where nobody bothered to show up for my party. My family had rented out the equivalent of Kangaroo Jake’s and sent out invitations to my whole first grade class. I was so excited I could barely contain it, I couldn’t wait for the big day – it was all I would talk about. When