Birthday Wishes is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in Natick, MA. Our mission is to improve and empower the lives of homeless children and their families by providing joy, play and hope through the magic of a birthday party. The goal of Birthday Wishes is to ensure that children experiencing the trauma of homelessness have the opportunity to celebrate their birthday joyfully, surrounded by family, friends and others who care.

On Sunday, June 12th from 10:00AM to 1:00PM, Birthday Wishes will hold its annual Walk for Birthdays at Cochituate Place (24 Superior Drive) in Natick, MA. This is our first in-person walk after two years of a virtual event. As a family event, Walk for Birthdays reflects the importance of kids helping kids. Participants walk a non-competitive one mile route and can participate as individuals or form teams with family, friends, or colleagues. The walk is followed by a Walker Appreciation Party which includes kids’ activities, games, a raffle, and a service component which gives participants the opportunity to learn about our program by building a birthday box which will go to one of our birthday kids. Every step taken and every dollar raised by walkers at this event ensures that children impacted by homelessness will be able to celebrate their birthdays. 

Walk for Birthdays is our signature fundraiser, and its success is critical to our important mission. This event usually attracts about 300 walkers, most of whom are families. Our goal is to raise as much money as possible through corporate sponsorships and the raffle so we can keep the fundraising minimums reasonable for our young walkers. Raffle tickets will be pre-sold for three months leading up to the event. Raffle tickets will also be sold, and the winner drawn, at the event. All the funds raised through the raffle and event will be used to provide birthday parties to over 26,000 children in more than 200 homeless shelters throughout 2022.