Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Chenault.
Paige, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The Birthday Party Project was born from the idea that I could use my talents and skills as a professional event planner to give back to our community and bring JOY to children that need it most. With nearly a decade of experience planning weddings and events around the country, I had a moment of clarity and fire that led me to believe that running a successful event planning business was not the end of my story-instead, I felt called to start The Birthday Party Project after reading an article about children in Haiti struggling to thrive. Pregnant with my daughter Lizzie, I was flipping through magazines and I came across a photo of a little boy. I’m sure you’ve seen images like this before: he was bare chested, standing in the middle of a dirty street. His eyes were sunken, and although there were people in the background of this image, it seemed like no one really noticed him. This image struck me to my core-I mean, here I am, planning amazing parties and events for others, dreaming about what could be for my own child-and this child might never feel the JOY that comes from being celebrated. A fire lit inside of me, and I knew that it was something I couldn’t ignore.
“What about him?” Kept playing over and over again. I realized that I could put my party planning skills to good use, and find a way to celebrate children in my community.
Like all great things in life, timing is everything. I knew that I was being called to start something big, but I also knew that my plate was full. From having my child, to running a business, figuring out motherhood-the next couple of years were full for me! But always, in the back of my mind, was this idea of doing something to give back to the families in my community.
After years of research and much consideration, I convinced my husband that this idea had to take flight! We launched The Birthday Party Project in 2012.
In 2012, we started by partnering with one local agency, Family Gateway, to host monthly birthday celebrations for their residents. We committed to celebrating birthdays with all their residents every month for one year.
Within a few months of launching, word spread and we started receiving interest from people around Dallas – from donating party supplies, cakes, and birthday gifts to people showing up to volunteer, we were overwhelmed the generous response from our community! Because of the momentum, we had to continue adding opportunities to celebrate children!
By 2013, we were celebrating birthdays at six agencies in Dallas.
Word continued to spread about our mission, and in 2014, we took the leap to celebrate birthdays in other cities across the country. Since 2014, we have grown our mission to Atlanta, Chicago, Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC.
We are experts when it comes to equipping and empowering our Party Coordinators and birthday enthusiasts (both volunteer roles) to host 36 complete birthday bashes in 12 cities nationwide. We have mastered logistics of getting all necessary items and supplies to our partners across the nation, with all functions running from our headquarters office in Dallas. We do more than celebrate their children-we have truly become a bridge between communities. We have given over 9,000 volunteer hours to our agency partners (between parties, holiday parties, serving, and our birthday enthusiasts becoming more involved in their mission). We often collect much needed items for our partners from our enthusiasts and deliver them to their clients.
To date, we have over 14,000 birthday enthusiasts (volunteers) that have helped us with our mission. We have hosted over 1,000 birthday parties with 32,000 kids in attendance. We currently partner with 36 agencies (9 in Dallas County) in 12 cities across the country.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Launching anything takes grit! I would say that our story has certainly had Cinderella qualities. And yes, we have endured struggles: growing a team, personnel changes, moving offices, managing relationships, investing in volunteers and donors have all carried a great weight. But truly, the things we struggle with most is keeping up with the excitement and momentum behind our mission and vision.
Personally, I would admit that at times, this leadership position can feel lonely. While I have a tribe around me, it’s become clear that at the end of the day, the way we celebrate children and treat our birthday enthusiasts all comes back to the way I lead and the decisions I make. But thankfully, the energy it takes to execute our parties is shared by many, and I’m so grateful! We have a tremendous community of birthday enthusiasts and Party Coordinators that are invested in the power of a celebration – making all the hard work totally worth it.
Please tell us about The Birthday Party Project.
The Birthday Party Project brings joy to homeless children through the magic of birthdays. With the support of birthday enthusiasts, aka volunteers, the non-profit organization partners with homeless shelters to throw monthly birthday parties for children. Founder and CEO, Paige Chenault founded The Birthday Party Project in 2012 with the hope of celebrating all children living in homeless shelters and transitional living facilities.
The Birthday Party Project receives monetary donations, party supplies and engages the community through a program called ‘Share Your Birthday’.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2143 Farrington Street
- Website: https://thebirthdaypartyproject.org
- Phone: (972) 290-0908
- Email: hello@thebirthdaypartyproject.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebirthdaypartyproject/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Birthday-Party-Project/233213430087213?ref=hl
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bdayenthusiast
The Birthday Party Project hosted a birthday party, sponsored by Southwest Airlines, for residents at the Ronald McDonald House in Dallas on Monday June 16, 2014. Southwest celebrated its 43rd birthday on June 18, 2014. // Stephen M. Keller, 2014
Image Credit:
The Birthday Party Project
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