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New Partnership with Monessen Family Center

By Lois Thomson

Can you imagine not knowing what a birthday cake is? Or what it's like to receive a present on your birthday? When she was volunteering during an after-school program, Megan Yunn learned that the 12-year-old student she was helping had never had a birthday party, and didn't know what they were like.

New Partnership with Monessen Family Center

For that reason, Yunn established an organization that provides birthday celebrations for young people in such situations, and named it ‘Beverly's Birthdays’, after her student. That was in 2011, and now 10 years later, the Monessen Family Center has partnered with the group.

Jessica Anderson, SAFE Program Coordinator at the Family Center, said the partnership came about when a friend of hers was volunteering with Beverly's Birthdays.

"Knowing what I do at the Family Center," Anderson said, "she thought it would be a perfect match for us." Yunn, who is familiar with the Monessen community, agreed.

The Monessen program started a few months ago, with the purpose of holding one party per month, and inviting all of the children who are involved in the Family Center programs (currently a total of 214), whose birthdays fall in that month. Anderson said the pandemic has interrupted normal celebrations, and parties have been switched to curbside rather than having them indoors at the Family Center. "Eventually we hope to get back to what they would do indoors."

The regular parties have a theme and everything is provided: cake, decorations, plates, utensils, etc., and the staff dresses up so all are in character theme. Each child receives a gift basket, but may also step into the Beverly's Birthdays truck – similar to a food truck – and choose something particularly to their liking. That part has remained the same for curbside parties.

For children who cannot attend, Anderson said the organization gives out a "birthday party in a bag" kit that parents can take home. "It has a cake mix, a tablecloth, plates, cups – everything they would need to throw a party for their child at home. When you live paycheck to paycheck, those types of things are luxuries. They also give out an 'itty bitty bundle of cheer' – baby baskets with diapers, a onesie, all things you would need for babies between birth and three months."

All gifts are donated by individuals or businesses. The baskets contain hygiene items, along with toys and clothes, and all are age- and gender-specific.

"Beverly's Birthdays does so many wonderful things. Megan is a blessing to the community and I'm excited to be partnered with them. It's nice to be able to bring cheer to these young people,” Anderson said.

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