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Make a foster child’s birthday wishes come true by registering to be a Birthday Buddy!  As a Birthday Buddy, you ask your guests to bring birthday presents to donate to a foster child in lieu of gifts for you or your own child.

To learn more about the Birthday Buddy program, please contact Shelley Thomas-Benke at 314.367.8373 x2229.

View a list of foster children with upcoming birthdays here.

Above is an adorable thank you note we received in June from a very happy child matched with a generous Birthday Buddy.
  
How to be Birthday Buddy? Minimize
  1. Select a Birthday Buddy from THIS LIST  of foster children with upcoming birthdays;
  2. Fill out the following Donating Birthday Buddy Application;
  3. Send completed application to Shelley Thomas-Benke by mail: 1750 S. Brentwood Blvd., Suite 210, St. Louis, MO 63144; or by fax at:  314.241.0715;
  4. The Birthday Buddy coordinator will notify you within five business days that your Birthday Buddy match is confirmed;
  5. After your event, you must agree deliver the presents in a timely fashion to one of the Birthday Buddy Co-Coordinator’s homes in Kirkwood, MO or Waterloo, IL.
  6. If you would like, you may place your Birthday Buddy's unwrapped presents in gift bags with tissue paper.  Because we match one donor with one foster child, we ask donors to give new gifts with a value between $50-$100 to their Birthday Buddy. 
  
Who can be a Birthday Buddy? Minimize
  • A child (or adult) with an upcoming birthday party - The Birthday Buddy program not only teaches the donating child an invaluable lesson about the gift of giving, but the child’s birthday guests learn about helping children in need as well.  (We recognize that it is sometimes difficult to convince a child to give away all of his/her birthday presents – it is perfectly acceptable for the donating child to give some of his/her presents to a Birthday Buddy.)
  • A class or scout troop could become a Birthday Buddy to a foster child as a community service project;
  • Gifts for a Birthday Buddy could be given in lieu of baby shower, wedding shower, or bar mitzvah gifts.
  
Why Become a Birthday Buddy? Minimize
  • There are over 4,000 children in foster care in the St. Louis area. 
  • A foster child spends an average of 2 birthdays in care.
  • The State of Missouri ranks 48 out of 50 states in foster care reimbursement rates. A recent study indicates that Missouri’s reimbursement rate for foster parents falls far short of the actual costs of providing for foster children; foster parents use their own funds to pay the difference.
  • The average foster family has an annual income of $21,000-$30,000 per year.
  • Click here to watch NewsChannel 5 interview Fancy Allen on why she became a Birthday Buddy.
  

Your donation is tax-deductible when you become a Birthday Buddy.  Your donation is made with the understanding that some gifts might be transferred to a foster child who was not matched with a Buddy, to try to ensure that as many foster children as possible have a happy birthday.
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1750 South Brentwood Boulevard, Suite 210, St. Louis, MO 63144 | 800.FOSTER.3 | 314.367.8373