Working at JCPenney is rewarding in different ways. One of those ways is that they let us give back to the community by various projects. This month we partnered with the Birthday Party Project and went to celebrate some awesome kid's birthdays one afternoon. We were gathered into two rows of equally excited adults, facing one another with our arms outstretched forward and above our heads. The lady by the door says "here they come!" and we start cheering and chanting "Happy Birthday!!" as the kids run through the tunnel of bodies and arms.. it was such a rush.

One thing I genuinely love about the company I work for is their passion for volunteerism and giving back to the community. A few weeks ago at one of our weekly divisional meetings, Paige Chenault came and spoke to us about The Birthday Party Project. If you have not heard about this organization, I strongly urge you to click the link above and learn more. They work with more than 10 agencies in the Dallas/Ft Worth area to provide birthday parties for the children staying in the shelters during that time. They go to each shelter once a month, twelve months a year. They have been celebrating community birthdays since January of 2012, recognizing over 500 birthdays- and counting- to date. My co-workers and I got play with and love on a lot of kiddos yesterday. We ran around on the playground, painted mini-canvas's, made sand-art necklaces, creatively designed pillow cases, ate cupcakes & had the best of times.

The most memorable moment for me yesterday was when we were walking toward the car, after the party was over and one of my co-workers says, "we should help that lady cross the street." We all three ran over to this woman who was not only carrying a pretty good size box of gifts- but she also had two little ones in tow. We greeted her and told her we would help her cross the street, I grabbed the box and my two co-workers got on either side of the woman and her children as we crossed the street together. She gave us a very warm, heartfelt thank you as her daughter came over and grabbed on to my leg and squeezed. She looked up and said, "thank you for my birthday." I could feel the water in my eyes get heavy as she hugged my two co-workers. Her brother was right behind her with the hugs and the thank-yous. The kindest, most appreciative children you would have ever met. Completely made my day.

I can honestly say that my heart is very full right now, and I am very grateful for the family and life that I have. There is nothing more rewarding in life than to know that you've made someone else's day brighter.

Until next time.

-S