Bring your birthday party kits to Go Ask Mom's North Hills event

We'll be collecting birthday party kits - a box of cake mix, canned frosting and birthday candles - to donate to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. The kits will go to families who can't afford a birthday cake for their kids.

Posted 12:28 a.m. Apr 12, 2012 — Updated 12:45 a.m. Apr 12, 2012

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

We are now less than a week away from Go Ask Mom's big event at North Hills next Tuesday. And, as I wrote in my post earlier this week announcing the event, I'm adding something new this year - a community service component.

At Tuesday's event, we will be collecting birthday party kits - comprised of cake mix, canned frosting and candles - which will be donated to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

The nonprofit, which does all kinds of good around here, will distribute the kits to needy families in the community who might not be able to afford a cake to celebrate their kids' birthdays. Many of the kits will go to students served in the food shuttle's afterschool programs.

In my family, the birthday cake plays a central role in our celebrations. I make the cakes from scratch and my kids come up with their own theme. One year it was Snow White. Another year it was rainbows and flowers. This year, for my older daughter, it was the international symbol for an atom.

I can only imagine how heartbreaking it would be for me if I was struggling to provide something like a birthday cake for my child.

So, with the hopes that we can make a lot of birthdays a bit sweeter this year, if you join us at North Hills on Tuesday, please consider bringing along a bag with a box of cake mix, a can of frosting and some birthday candles.

We'll have some paper, crayons, markers and stickers for kids at Tuesday's event to make birthday cards to include with the kits.

Thank you to the United Way of the Greater Triangle for connecting me with the food shuttle. For other volunteer opportunities with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, click here.

And we'll have many more activities from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday, on the Commons at North Hills, including a fire truck, big blocks to play with, free child IDs, a craft from Lil' Chef, the Chick-fil-A cow and more. Read all about it here! I hope to see you there and at our future events on Wednesday, Aug. 8, and Saturday, Sept. 29.

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