A cause for Celebration
MARS — Kendall Bruns has always loved celebrating her birthday at the end of December.
“She is a birthday kid,” said Christine Bruns, her mother. “She loves her birthday. It's a weeklong celebration. It's big.”
So it came as a surprise to 10-year-old Kendall that not all children got that same opportunity to celebrate as she did.
“I knew some people were less fortunate, but I never put it together that they didn't celebrate their birthdays,” she said. “That made me feel sad for them.”
She is taking action to help other children have the same opportunity to party as she does by organizing an ice cream social to raise money for Beverly's Birthdays. The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Adams Ridge Clubhouse, 100 Adams Ridge Blvd, Mars.
Beverly's Birthdays is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that provides birthday celebrations for homeless children in the Pittsburgh region. The group was started in 2011 after founder Megs Yunn met a young girl named Beverly who had never had her own birthday party, according to the nonprofit's website.
Yunn was inspired to create an organization to spread birthday cheer to homeless children, and since then the group has created more than 25,000 birthday experiences for kids, the website said.
Christine Bruns said she had a discussion with her daughter that put Kendall in the shoes of a child living in poverty.
“If I had to worry about putting a roof over your head or having a job, we wouldn't be able to do what we do for your birthday,” Christine Bruns said. “If we're worried about living, we're not going to be worried about that. That was something that spoke to her.”
Earlier in the fall, Kendall, a fifth-grader at Mars Centennial School, went through the Beverly's Birthdays Champion of Cheer program that gives children ages 7 to 12 leadership development training. Then the children individually design and implement a fundraising project in their community to benefit Beverly's Birthdays.
Kendall selected an ice cream social for her project. In addition to an ice cream bar, there will be activities for children, a selfie station, 50/50 raffle and basket raffles.
“When I heard about the cause, I knew that birthdays were very important to me. It lets you feel like people appreciate you and you feel important,” Kendall said. “It makes you feel special.”
The suggested donation is $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 5 to 12 or $10 for a family. RSVPs are appreciate at christinebruns260@yahoo.com or on the Facebook event page by searching “Kendall's Ice Cream Social to benefit Beverly's Birthdays.” on Facebook.
