Do you need help providing birthday presents for your foster child(ren)? The Coalition has a resource that can help - the Birthday Buddy program!
Through this program, generous individuals in the St. Louis community apply to become a Birthday Buddy to a child in foster care. Foster parents provide the Coalition with general information about the child and birthday present ideas, which will be posted on our website. Individuals give some or all of the presents that he/she receives to his/her Birthday Buddy. After the donated presents are dropped off, the foster parent must pick up the birthday presents at our Birthday Buddy Co-Coordinator’s home in Kirkwood, Missouri or Waterloo, Illinois.
Only foster children (not adopted) can request to be matched with a Birthday Buddy. For more information, please contact
Shelley Thomas-Benke by phone at 800.FOSTER.3 (314.367.8373) x2229.
For a foster parent to enroll his/her foster child in the “Birthday Buddy” program:
- The foster parent must complete and submit the below application;
- Qualifying child must currently be in foster care (not adopted or guardianship);
- Applications must be submitted no earlier than four months before the child’s birthday.
- Applications must be submitted at least one month prior to the child's birthday.