Olivia Goldfarb | Congregation Shaare Emeth

What child doesn’t like to celebrate his or her own birthday? Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding and resources, not all are able to. 

Olivia felt that all children should have the chance to celebrate their special day. “No matter where they live or how much they have, every kid deserve to feel loved and celebrated on their birthday,” she said. To share her feelings, Olivia organized and hosted a party-box drive for It’s Your Birthday, Inc., a local organization whose mission is to create fun and memorable experiences for children ages 5 to 12 residing in homeless and domestic violence centers. 

Daughter of Mindy and Jeff Goldfarb of Clayton, Olivia wanted to be totally responsible for her project. She drafted and emailed friends and family a detailed letter explaining her project and how she would appreciate everyone’s support by donating from a list of party supplies. She also created a personal page on SignUpGenius for those who offered to help. 

Olivia’s goal was to create at least five large party boxes to be donated to It’s Your Birthday Party, Inc. They, in turn, would take a celebration to each child. In the end, Olivia collected enough for nine boxes filled with paper goods, plastic ware, streamers and decorations, small toys, birthday cards, and more. Sweetology, a shop in Ladue where you can create one-of-a-kind cupcakes and cakes,   donated the space for Olivia and her National Charity League classmates to organize, decorate and put the boxes together. This made for a very fun environment. 

A student at Wydown Middle School, Olivia was very thankful for all the support she received. As she said in her bat mitzvah speech, “Know that you are not only helping me, but are helping other children celebrate their birthdays and are helping put a smile on their faces.” Olivia was so happy to be a part of making that happen for nine different kids.

Ronald McDonald House in Creve Coeur was also the recipient of Olivia’s generosity. After volunteering at the facility several times with her family, she wanted to do something on her own. She donated homemade sweets to the families there, just to brighten their day.