The Rotary Club of Potsdam has prepared and donated 75 “Birthdays in a Box” to the Potsdam Neighborhood Center.
Potsdam Rotary worked with the Neighborhood Center to provide the Birthdays in a Box for children celebrating their birthdays, whose families are not able to afford a party or cake for their child.
A Birthday in a Box is filled with everything one would need in order to have a birthday party. Cake mix, frosting, napkins, plates, plasticware, birthday candles, etc. are part of what goes into making these boxes.
“This project addresses the Rotary International area of focus of disease prevention and treatment,” says Potsdam Rotary President Sunday Smith. “Mental health issues are an illness as much as any other disease. Rotary hopes that our birthday project will boost the mental health of children who otherwise might suffer from depression when their birthday was not celebrated like their peers.”The Potsdam Neighborhood Center is part of the St. Lawrence County Community Development Program (CDP), a private, not-for-profit agency that serves St. Lawrence County. CDP operates programs and services for low-income families to assist them toward self-sufficiency.
The Birthday in a Box project is supported by a matching grant from Rotary District 7040.
The Potsdam Rotary Club meets at noon at the Potsdam Town Hall community room every Wednesday. Guests are welcome. Find out more at potsdamrotary.org.
Left to right: Potsdam Neighborhood Center Director Kristal Hayes; Gabriella DeLorenzo; Rotarians Christina DeLorenzo, Mary Sue Foster, Bobby Gordon and Michael Griffin; and Neighborhood Center volunteer Devin Newkirk.