BRANDON, Fla. -- Cake, pizza and presents are all something we come to expect on our birthdays growing up. But there are some children in the foster care system that have never experienced a birthday party.
Once a month, Betsy Moriarty and a team of volunteers deliver pizza and cake to A Kid’s Place in Brandon for all the children living there who were born that month. They call themselves the Birthday Bunch.
“Everybody should be able to be celebrated on their birthday and a lot of these kids have never had that opportunity before,” said Moriarty.
This month, the celebration was held for 9-year-old Elizabeth and 4-year-old Byron.
All the pizza, cake and presents are donated from around the community.
“And we so appreciate this Brandon community that has wrapped their arms around A Kid’s Place because we could have never done it by ourselves,” said Program Operations Supervisor Mary Dozier.
Dozier said there are up to 60 kids living on their campus at any one time. They’ve all had a lot of challenges and it’s nice to watch them celebrate.
“This gives them an opportunity to create a memory just for them, just for their birthday, just for their special day,” said Dozier.
Moriarty said the icing on the cake at these parties is what she receives in return.
“Last month, we had a little boy that was here that wasn’t able to be touched. He didn’t want to be touched and I took him to his birthday presents. He wanted me to sit down with him, he gave me a hug. The house parent was shocked that he hugged me because that is not something he typically does,” said Moriarty.
For more information go to welcome@akidsplacetb.org.
