Couple Starts Charity To Give Children in Poverty Birthdays They Deserve
Birthdays are a wonderful time of celebration, especially for kids. Many children look forward to their upcoming birthday with great anticipation, and even pitch in to help out with planning, decorating, and cake decisions.
Not everyone is fortunate enough to celebrate the way they would like to, though. Many families are struggling to survive, let alone fund a birthday party.
One woman saw that, and wanted to step in and help fill the need.
Mary Davis and her husband Ari Kadin wanted a family, but so far they’d had two miscarriages. That takes a toll on a person, and Davis longed for children but wanted to take some time to help others.
There were plenty of children out there in poverty and dangerous situations who wouldn’t get to experience celebration without some external help, so Davis took on one of the most dangerous and destitute locations: Skid Row in Los Angeles, California.
“We are in ground zero for Skid Row and children live here,” she said.
When she and her husband started the charity Worthy of Love, there were only 15 kids who attended. But they’ve been working at it for six years, and now there are 200.
Every month, they throw a huge party on a rooftop in Skid Row to recognize those with birthdays that month. There’s food, balloon artists, costumed characters, and more — they really go all-out!
“So many children in Skid Row needed to feel important and loved,” she said. “We didn’t realize how much joy they were going to bring us, and that was so healing for me.”
One girl’s mother is grateful for Worthy of Love, because it provided her daughter with the opportunity to be a kid.
“I still want them to live a normal life, you know?” the mother said. “I don’t want them to feel no kind of way because we’re in a tough situation right now. I want them to still be kids.”
After celebrating over 6,000 birthdays and bringing joy to the kids they interact with, they’ve done a lot of healing. Davis now has many children to love, but she and her husband also have one of their own now.
And their daughter will continue in the same tradition, with her birthday being recognized on the rooftop that has seen so many other children who, for a day, can just be carefree kids. Davis is adamant about that.
“I want her to grow up knowing, there are kids that don’t get everything that you have,” she said. “You have to bless others and bring happiness and joy to those that need it most.”
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