Love County 4-H member and Marietta High School student Emily Faulkenberry is asking for the public’s help, but not for her own benefit.
Faulkenberry has chosen for her 4-H service project “Everyone Deserves a Party.” Her plan is to provide birthday bags for students in Pre-K through twelfth grades who receive services through the school’s food pantry.
Included in the bag will be items like cake mixes, frosting, birthday candles, plates, cups, and napkins, and maybe a few other birthday decorations – basically anything that can make someone’s birthday a special one.
“A 4-Her in another county did it, and I saw it on Facebook and thought it was a great idea,” said Faulkenberry. “Not every kid has parents who make their birthday special, and I thought it would be a nice thing to do so they can have a good birthday.”
Faulkenberry just started collecting the birthday items and is hoping to begin assembling some of the bags soon. And her plans don’t stop in Marietta. As soon as she has enough bags for students in her own school, she plans to reach out to children who are in foster care in Love County and to the family shelter in Ardmore. From there, who knows?
Although Faulkenberry won’t know the recipients of the birthday bags, she’s still excited about giving them.
“It feels really good knowing that I’ll be helping kids who don’t have as much as I do,” she said. “I won’t ever know who gets them, but I’ll know that somebody who needed one will have a better birthday and that’s what really matters.”
Faulkenberry is also encouraged by the number of people who have expressed the desire to help by contributing items for the bags.
She is accepting donations of cake mixes, frosting, candles, birthday plates, cups and napkins, or any other birthday décor. Items may be dropped off at the Marietta High School office or at the Love County OSU Extension Office in the courthouse basement.