On Wednesday evening, a 6-year-old boy celebrated his birthday with friends, pizza and a present — just like other kids.
The party, with balloons, cake and gift bags of trinkets for the other children, was unremarkable, except that it held in a homeless shelter. Birthdays are seldom celebrated at Clare House.
"The kids had a great time. They didn't want us to leave," party organizer Heather Archuleta said.
On Friday night, a bigger party was planned for the Water Street mission, where 40 children were expected to celebrate four January birthdays.
At that party, members of the Lancaster Lightning minor league football team and a clown were to be among the volunteers staging the party.
"It should be a lot of fun," Archuleta said Friday afternoon.
Archuleta is executive director of Who Cares in PA Inc., the group which is organizing the parties and plans to continue them on a monthly basis at both shelters.
Homeless children don't often have birthday parties, don't know their birthdays have occurred or, if invited to another child's party, don't go because their parents don't have the money to buy a present, Archuleta said.
The parties, she said, give the children "the sense of normalcy that most of us take for granted."
Archuleta said that she and friend Jodie Tannehill began the all-volunteer group in May with the goal of linking volunteers with opportunities to make a difference in people's lives.
While brainstorming of ways to do that, she thought of a holiday party at a homeless shelter at which she helped when in high school. That led to the birthday parties.
Archuleta said she contacted Clare House and was told that the staff had wanted to do birthday parties for the children staying in the shelter with their mothers but did not have the resources.
"It's a really simple way for someone to go out and volunteer, and the kids really appreciate it," Archuleta said.
Both Archuleta and Tannehill previously worked for nonprofit organizations, and they know that sometimes volunteering for only a short time or for a specific need can be a great help.
And that help can come in different forms. Along with helping at the parties themselves, Archuleta said people can help through the donation of birthday presents, party supplies or money.
Anyone wishing to donate to the program, or to learn other ways to become involved can visit the organization's website, www.whocarespa.org.