NORTH ANDOVER — Three fourth-graders from the Sargent School recently threw a birthday party that was about giving rather than receiving.
Blake Leahy and the Carcia twins, Cassidy and Kendyl, were turning 10 at around the same time, so they held their party together at Cochichewick Lodge.
“We invited everybody, all the girls in the fourth grade,” Leahy said.
But instead of gifts for the three girls, guests were asked to bring presents for children who might go without on their birthdays.
The toys and other items guests brought were selected from a list compiled by the One Wish Project, which is posted at www.onewishproject.us.
Founded by Hannah Finn of Andover in 2017 when she was 14, One Wish Project provides better birthdays to children in foster care or living in shelters who might be unable to afford a celebration.
“Starting it, I never thought it would be as big as it is today, and it’s grown tremendously because of so much support from so many people,” said Finn, who is now 21 and a college senior. “We’re so lucky to just keep watching it evolve and celebrating more kids. That’s my whole goal.”
Claudia Mintz, Finn’s mother, has been handling day-to-day operations of the charity while her daughter has been at college.
“We celebrate about 1,200 kids a year and we’ll continue to raise that number in 2024,” Mintz said. “We’re hoping to double that number by the end of 2024.”
But while the organization has grown, they still tailor its mission to the children it serves, to make sure each birthday is special.
“We don’t just give the kids random toys,” Mintz said.
“The kids or the parent or the guardian gets to fill out a birthday survey that tells us quite a bit about the child and then we customize the celebration around the child’s likes and wants and needs and desires down to the exact toys that they want to receive.”
Cassidy, Kendyl and Blake donated the gifts from their party Tuesday, Nov. 21, at One Wish Project’s office in Andover. They had bags of stuffed animals, stickers, games and gift cards, as well as plenty of slime.
“Slime is huge, the kids love it,” Finn said.
Blake’s birthday is on Oct. 23, while Cassidy was born on Nov. 7 and Kendyl on Nov. 8, so they split the difference and held the party on Nov. 3.
“It was a pink, spectacular, Barbie-themed party with a DJ and lots of glow sticks and dancing and snacks,” said Erin Carcia, Kendyl and Cassidy’s mother. “But it was nice because the girls did choose to invite everybody, which I think is probably a record in and of itself. Everybody felt included.”
Nicole Leahy, Blake’s mother, said the three girls were even more excited about participating in One Wish than they were about the party itself.
“We hope it kicks off the idea for other people that maybe we don’t need to leave this birthday party with all these gifts when other kids might not have it,” Nicole said. “All the parents thought it was a great idea.”
Mintz said that, along with donations like those provided by the three girls on Tuesday, Magic 106.7 radio holds an annual toy drive for One Wish Project.
“That sustains us, along with the other donations, for a good solid year,” Mintz said. “Monetary donations are always equally as important, so we do have a big end of year campaign going on now. People can go to our website and donate right from there and that will help us to continue expanding and reaching more kids.”
When Finn started One Wish, she baked a cake at home for every child they were serving with a party, and thinks she may have made 500 birthday cakes over the years.
But as the organization grew and Finn went to college, she chose to turn the project into a volunteer organization, which now has 250 people in eastern Massachusetts who offer to deliver toys and cakes to children.
Finn said people often remark on how young she was when she founded One Wish, but that Blake Leahy and Kendyl and Cassidy Carcia showed that everyone can make a difference regardless of age.
“You don’t have to be a certain age to volunteer or give back,” Finn said. “You can hold the door open for someone, or tell someone that you love the. We need so much kindness in this world. You can do good things at any age.”