Birthday Buddies Program Brings Joy to Youth

Tina wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary when she turned 13 at Boys Town North Florida.  

During the fall of 2003, the Boys Town youth had a new group of friends, a nurturing home and fresh school environment. Like many youth, however, she had little in the way of material objects to call her own and no luxury of personal birthday attention other children might have taken for granted. 

Tina’s friends in a Boys Town Girl Scouts group brainstormed with Boys Town staff and decided to sponsor a birthday party for Tina. Tina loved basketball, so they made a cake picturing a basketball along with some stationary featuring Tina’s name and then bought her a few gifts. Their efforts surprised and touched Tina. 

“My birthday at Boys Town has been the only birthday I have ever really had,” she said.  

Jennifer LaVia, Boys Town North Florida Board Secretary, remembers Tina’s reaction to the surprise. “I’ll never forget the look on her face when she saw the cake and opened her gifts,” LaVia said. “Her face lit up, her eyes filled with tears, and she said, ‘I feel so special.’  We were hooked. We ended up sponsoring birthdays for all the girls in the house and then expanded the project to recruit Birthday Buddies for all children on campus." 

Since then, the Birthday Buddies program has sponsored an estimated 240 youths. A sponsor becomes a “Buddy” by providing a cake, balloons and party decorations, and a modest gift for a youth. Birthday Buddy Coordinators Anne Martin, Brian Ramos and Joanna Copenhaver provide sponsors with youth  gift wish lists and give them tips on the youth’s personal preferences for party themes and decorations, favorite colors and cake flavors. 

 “I can't believe how many children have never had their birthday celebrated until they get to Boys Town,” Martin said. “It is such a thrill to them. Sometimes just having their own name on a cake means the world to them. There is nothing like seeing a child's face light up when you walk into a home with a birthday balloon bouquet.” 

To find out more information about the Birthday Buddies program, please contact one of the Birthday Buddies Coordinators: Anne Martin (850-591-5360), Brian Ramos (850-980-1945) or Joanna Copenhaver (850-264-2320).