Lighthouse SDA students create ‘birthday boxes’

11 boxes donated to Morgan County Family Center for distribution so struggling local families can celebrate birthdays

What does a bir thday celebration look like for a struggling family? Students at Lighthouse Seventh-day Adventist Christian School in Fort Morgan want it to still be a joyous occasion with cake, candles and gifts, according to a news release.

The idea of helping make this possible for some local families star ted in February when the Lighthouse students were talking about homelessness and other dif ficult situations that kids face today, according to Lighthouse SDA School Principal Pennie Wredberg.

The students asked, what if they could receive in a box ever ything needed to have a small par ty?

“Soon a note went home to the parents telling them about the idea and announcements were made,” Wredberg said. “Donations for the boxes came pouring in from parents, church members and even the students, themselves.”

Working with their par tners, students walked up and down the tables set out in the chapel on a Friday, deciding what type of frosting they wanted to use to match the cake

they had chosen for their box.

Earlier in the month, the students had decided what theme they wanted for their “bir thday box,” and now they were decorating and filling the boxes.

Themes chosen by the students included: floral, horses, outside games and even spies, just to name a few. Each box was unique and contained ever ything to throw a small birthday par ty, including plates and decorations.

Overall, the students decorated and filled 11 boxes to be donated to Morgan County Family Center.

“I hope that this makes someone happy,” a student was heard saying. “It would be so sad to not have a par - ty for my birthday.”

Mar y Gross, executive director of Morgan County Family Center, accepted all of the birthday boxes and said that her staf f would make sure the boxes would go to the families that needed them most.

Pennie Wredberg / Courtesy photo Students at Lighthouse SDA Christian School with some of the "birthday boxes" that they created.

Lighthouse SDA Christian School / Courtesy photo Morgan County Family Center Executive Director Mary Gross and Lighthouse SDA School Principal Pennie Wredberg are shown holding two “birthday boxes” created by the school's students and donated to the Family Center for distribution to local families.

Pennie Wredberg / Courtesy photo Students at Lighthouse SDA Christian School worked with partners to chose, decorate and fill their "birthday boxes."

Pennie Wredberg / Courtesy photo Lighthouse students Addy and Damian went shopping together for supplies for their ocean-themed birthday box. They had a very specific list of items they wanted to include, right down to a blue frosting to make the cake look like the sea.