This is a new series I'm starting here at Ima on and off the
Bima.
Monday Matters will feature various causes and charitable
organizations that I think are important. I don't have any affiliation with
these organizations. For every 10 comments on this post, I'll donate ONE WHOLE BIRTHDAY PARTY through Birthday Angels! (But whoever commented one word per comment to increase the numbers...sorry, I'll honor it last week but not this week...nice try!!!! very creative!!!!)
November is birthday month in my house. If you're a regular follower of this blog, you'll know that since it seems to be all that I talk about this month!
I am so grateful that when members of my family have birthdays, we have cake, parties, gifts, special dinners...we don't go over the top by any means but we have the blessing of celebrating our years.
There are so many families and children that don't have that luxury.
In fact, according to Birthday Angels, one in three Israeli children can't afford birthday parties. Wow.
Here's what they do:
Isn't this a wonderful way to celebrate a birthday?
What's your favorite way to celebrate your birthday?
For every 10 comments on this post, I'll donate ONE WHOLE BIRTHDAY PARTY! ($36)
(But whoever commented one word per comment to increase the numbers...sorry, I'll honor it last week but not this week...nice try!!!! very creative!!!!)
A few years ago, when my birthday coincided with Chanukah, I wrote about Birthday Angels too!
5 comments:
Yes! I love to celebrate special moments with my family. Our kids throw "theme" celebrations for my husband and me; this year's was a Hawaiian theme. When they were younger, they gave us a 'certain year' birthday, with food names keyed to our advancing age (like Old Bones Baked Beans and Big 40 soda). One year, they created a pretend restaurant on the back porch; another year, they set up an elegant, candlelit dining room.
My love of joyous family gatherings, in fact, led me to create http://www.JewishHolidaysInABox.com, so I could help other families gain easy access to Jewish holiday celebrations. Our Hanukkah Kits are ready now -- that's an 8-night family celebration!
Check us out and spread the word, if you like what you see! See our blog for what folks at our synagogue said yesterday about our Hanukkah Kits.
We have all of our birthdays in my family within a three month span, starting in September. We love finding alternatives to the traditional birthday cake Last year we had birthday pancakes for my husband. This year we are having a birthday fruit tort for my birthday because I'm on a diet. Enjoy your birthday month Ima on and off the Bima!
It's a wonderful charity and a wonderful way to give (and I do believe they focus on families who are really struggling), but to put it in a wee bit of perspective I have to add that I suspect the reason they say such a high percentage (1 in 3!) can't afford it is the Israeli "all or nothing" approach to parties. For younger children, you MUST invite the entire class (between 30-40 kids) plus assorted family friends, cousins, etc. You almost always need to hire a professional entertainer (because few parents are insane enough to try and corral that many hyped up children, and the children have come to expect it) and you have to feed them all and send them home with a lootbag. Seriously, it adds up to a LOT of money. For a 5 or 6 year old's birthday party. It's also pretty much the required standard, if you're doing it at all. Up to about age 8, when gender separation kicks in, inviting less than the entire class would be seen as unthinkably rude, and while it's of course nice to treat all the kids it's a big burden on the parents, and beyond the reach of many.
it's a nice idea to share our joy with others...
We collect tzedakah for Birthday Angels every year in my 4th-grade class, and I match whatever funds the kids raise. I always emphasize that Ruthie Sobel Luttenberg is a modern Jew who saw a need and said, "Hineini!" It's important for our children to see that one person can really, mamash, make a difference.
Lynne
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