If you want to share your birthday celebration beyond your friends and family, share the special day with others who may not have the chance to celebrate their own. Perhaps, you also want to celebrate your day to support a cause?
MyBirthday Foundation can help you to do just that. Based in Manila, Philippines, MyBirthday Foundation helps people who wish to throw a party in support of a cause or people in need.
Through this organisation, you can celebrate your birthday with different communities in society, from children, prisoners to the elderly. You can also champion a specific cause such as planting trees or cleaning up the beach to take care of the environment.
But you don’t have to wait until your birthday to do that. Other special occasions will do, such as an anniversary.
The founder Catherine Vital has worked with charities and institutions to plan the celebrations. Sponsors of the parties can also invite their friends and family along. She wishes to encourage volunteerism, generosity and selflessness by spreading “one’s blessings to others”.
If you want to participate but you are not residing in the Philippines, it doesn’t mean you are unable to. Take this Filipino woman named Leedel who works in Doha, Qatar for example. She simply donate to MyBirthday Foundation and requested a party to be organised on her behalf for the children at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.
“I know the feeling of having a child, and how important the child is to you, and how much you want to care for her, and make her happy,” Leedel said.
When the single mother saw the kids in a video who celebrate a party because of her, she cried. She was touched when she see that despite their illness, they still managed to smile.
It’s not the amount of money you give that matters, but the thought (initiative) is what counts. Catherine said that one student felt apologetic for only donating sandwiches, so she explained how it still means a lot for those who can’t even afford to buy three meals a day.
What could be a better present than to bring a smile for others, as your loved ones have done for you?
Watch their story here:
This story was first published on Our Better World.