Birthdays are a special time of year, especially for kids. The excitement of a party, the chance to celebrate with friends and family –it’s a delightful day dedicated all to you! Birthdays should be a celebration of life, but so often the holiday revolves around presents. Giving a gift is a great way to show you care, but the gift doesn’t always have to be from a store. Earlier this month 12-year-old Taylor Reid decided he wanted to give back for his birthday. Instead of throwing a big bash for his twelfth birthday, Taylor and his friends spent the afternoon giving the gift of service by volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul.
Taylor is no stranger to volunteerism; he and his family have been serving the community for years. They served Thanksgiving dinner in one of SVdP’s dining rooms, spent afternoons with the elderly at a retirement home and even took a summer trip to Guatemala to help build a playground and provide dental care to the local community. But this service project was different. The activity wasn’t organized through a church or a group; it was Taylor’s idea.
“He came up with this idea on his own— to invite his friends to serve with him for his birthday party,” Taylor’s mother, Jeni Reid explained. She credits his past service experiences for his desire to spend his birthday volunteering. “I think all these opportunities gave him the idea and the desire to get his friends involved,” which is why SVdP’s Family Dining Room was the perfect choice. The dining room serves about 200 meals each night to families in need and is one of the volunteer opportunities kids can participate in. “I thought it would be fun to serve here [SVdP] because it’s a good place to serve and because you actually get to interact with people. When you get to serve them [SVdP families] food it makes you feel good,” Taylor explained. “Serving just makes me feel good inside, and just gives me joy.” And it’s that joy that Taylor wanted to share with his 7 closest friends who weren’t really sure what to make of a volunteer party. “They [my friends] were really surprised when I told them,” Taylor laughed, “But they just went with it.”
As the team of boys suited up to serve dinner, a curious buzz of conversation drifted throughout the group. “I hope I don’t mess up,” one boy said, tying his apron around his small waist. “I hope I don’t drop the food,” another chimed in as the group circled in for the pre-meal pep talk. Jennifer Hudson, the Family Evening Meal Supervisor explained how the dinner worked and assigned roles to the group. Keeping the birthday bunch behind, she gave a special SVdP birthday cookie to Taylor and imparted one final piece of advice. “The most important thing to remember tonight is to have fun,” Jennifer said with a smile, and with that the group was dismissed. It was time to begin.
The doors opened, families filed in and Taylor and his friends headed to the tables to take dinner orders. Back and forth, the boys rushed, taking orders just as fast as they could give them to the hot food line. As the friends passed each other, encouraging smiles were shared along with quick updates like, “I am excited!” and “I’m going to feel good after this!” As the evening ticked away and families had their fill, the conversation changed to one of gratitude. “It’s a really fun experience to come here and serve dinner,” Taylor’s friend Ethan said. “I think it was really selfless of him [Taylor] to do this. It was really nice.”
Taylor’s simple, yet subtle birthday twist broadened the definition on what it means to give. These boys were given a fresh perspective to see that sometimes the gifts that mean the most are the ones you can’t buy. Whether it’s donating your time, supporting a friend or serving a hot meal, it’s important to recognize that gifts come in all shapes and sizes.
Volunteer opportunities like this are always available in SVdP’s Family Dining Room. If you are interested in volunteering, or would like to schedule a service birthday party of your own, please email volunteer@svdpaz.org.
