September 2018

Bringing joy, hope and dignity to homeless children with the gift of a birthday party.

See what's new this month...

Tickets Are Selling Fast! Get yours today.

The big event is just a few weeks away and tickets are selling out fast! Get yours before they're gone. Join us for dinner, silent and live auctions featuring local celebrity Meghan Black as Emcee and Larry Snyder as Auctioneer OCTOBER 6th | SATURDAY | 5:30 PM at the HYATT REGENCY LAKE WASHINGTON 1053 Lake Washington Blvd N, Renton WA 98056 LIMITED TIME! Discounted rooms available at the Hyatt for event night. Discount room rates have been extended to September 14th! Book a room and stay at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Lake Washington after the event. Link to book special Birthday Dreams room rate will be in your ticket confirmation email. Learn how you can be a part of this incredible evening to help make Birthday Dreams possible for homeless children in our community. Click below for more information, including links to purchase your tickets, become a sponsor or make a donation.

So many great opportunities to participate! For additional information or questions regarding the Gala, please email teri@birthdaydreams.org .

Congrats on Your Retirement, Shannon!

We wish you all the best Friday August 31, was Shannon’s last day working in our Birthday Dreams office. We wish our very own Shannon Avery luck in her retirement from Birthday Dreams. Though she won’t be coming in to the office every day, we will have her close by. Shannon will always be our co-founder and she has been a driving force in our mission over the last 9.5 years (almost 10). She plans to remain a Board member and will be involved with the Gala. We congratulate and support her on the next exciting chapter in her life.

We were graced to have benefited from all of Shannon’s hard work. It is hard to list all the wonderful things Shannon has done for Birthday Dreams. She has given her heart and soul over since day one, to make sure that birthday parties are according to the child’s request. She has tirelessly worked behind the scenes to make sure everything happens as needed. Over 6,700 children have been celebrated with parties she has coordinated. I cannot count how many times she filled in for last minute volunteers and represented Birthday Dreams for community events. We’ve benefited from Shannon’s organizational leadership, ability to coordinate all the details/people and her gift with décor. Birthday Dreams wouldn’t be where it is today without Shannon’s dedication and efforts. Shannon is and will continue to be a major part of Birthday Dreams.   If you are asking "What I will do without Shannon?", not to worry - Andrea Bates  will be assuming the day-to-day office operations and  Chris Spahn  is also moving to support daily needs. We ask for your support and understanding during this transition. We are working to reorganize responsibilities and bring on a Volunteer Manager. In the meantime, if you need to contact Birthday Dreams Staff, please call the office at 425-988-3954, or email  info@birthdaydreams.org . Or you can also reach out directly to  Andrea Bates , if needed.    If you see Shannon at the Gala, be sure to thank her and to congratulate her on her retirement.

Thank You to Our Donors

A big thank you to Sound Credit Union for their $500 donation and a thanks to Auburn Volkswagen as well for their donation of $500 to help with our Gala this year! Interested in supporting our cause with a donation? Click below to help bring birthday smiles to homeless children.

Open House - Thank You for Joining Us!

Thank you to those who attended and helped support us at our open house this past Saturday. And a very special thanks to QFC Renton Highlands for donating all of the food and to Sounds Unlimited for providing the DJ and music which helped make the event a success! We couldn't do what we do without all of you! THANK YOU!

Our Journey to Better Messaging

Lynn Bohart decided to do something different with her retirement. Instead of kicking back and relaxing, she has combined her 35+ years of nonprofit management experience with an accomplished writing background to help nonprofits, like us, to grow through remarkable messaging and freelance writing. She created a new company called Lil Dog Communications and recently led a group of Birthday Dreams’ volunteers, staff and board members through an intensive 3-hour workshop to find our core message – the very essence of who we are. The workshop helped

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to create our new tagline (We bring birthday smiles to homeless children) and to refine our mission and vision statements to more accurately depict how we intend to make a difference to the vulnerable children we serve. Lynn’s work with us isn’t done. She’s helping to deploy the messaging throughout the organization (website, grant appeals, and newsletters) so that we speak more authentically about what we do. The goal is to attract new donors and volunteers to support this great cause we all believe in. Stay tuned.

Trans Siberian Orchestra

We've been selected to be one of the benefiting charities for this years show. Only one show this year. A portion of each ticket purchased will benefit Birthday Dreams. Join us for an always amazing show. We'll be on stage before the show getting a big check. Trans-Siberian Orchestra - 2018 Winter Tour Sunday, November 25th, 2018 @3:00 pm Tacoma Dome - One show only!! Get your tickets

Volunteer Orientations

Join us and help bring birthday magic to homeless children in King County! Upcoming Volunteer Orientations Tuesday, September 11, 2018 6:00 PM Saturday, September 22, 2018 11:00 AM Tuesday, October 16, 2018 6:00 PM Saturday, October 20, 2018 11:00 AM

Join a Committee

Get involved with Birthday Dreams! Share your passion and expertise and join a committee to help us bring more birthday joy to homeless children in our community. 10th Birthday Party Planning Meeting - Birthday Dreams turns 10 next year. Time to plan the party. Thursday, September 13th @ 6:30 PM All Hands Gala Meeting Thursday, September 20th @ 6:30 PM Marketing/Development Committee Wednesday, September 26th @ 6:30 PM Location for all meetings : 1084 Kirkland Ave NE Renton, WA

10% of proceeds go to Birthday Dreams when you use code BDD2K018 Foremost Printing helps Birthday Dreams give the gift of a birthday party to homeless children by donating a portion of their sales to Birthday Dreams!   10% of the sales of all printing business using promo code BDD2K018 comes directly to us. This is an ongoing offer, so when printing needs come up, call Foremost Printing at 206-501-5372. Files or inquiries can be emailed to ken@foremostprinting.com Offer Expires 12/31/2018

Birthday Dreams | P. 425-988-3954 | info@birthdaydreams.org | www.birthdaydreams.org PO Box 2722 | Renton, WA 98056

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