La Junta Girl Scout grants birthday wishes for children in need
LA JUNTA, Colo. (KRDO) - One teenager is collecting "birthday bags" for families who might otherwise not be able to afford birthday parties for their young kids.
Bethany Taullie, a junior at Swink High School working on her Girl Scout Gold Award project, came up with the idea while watching an old home video of her sixth birthday party.
"I was just watching the happy expression on my face whenever I opened up my gift, and I was just like 'sometimes kids don't get that experience,'" she told KRDO.
Bethany hit the ground running, calling local businesses for donations and setting up an online registry.
"Once you just connect with your community, amazing things start happening," she explained. "Ten boxes would come to my door a day, full of cake mixes and toys, and I was just so blown away that many people wanted to help me."
After working on the project for two whole years, Bethany and her friends packed up 100 birthday bags last week.
Through the ups and downs, she's learned a lot.
"There was this one day a little girl came up to me and she was so excited. She was like 'hey Bethany, I just donated to your birthday box!' And I was like 'okay do you know where that donation is going?'" Bethany recounted. "She said no, and I explained it to her. And just the smile on her face made me realize, not only was the project serving kids, but it was also teaching others the joy of giving to others."
