MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Sunshine Crawley says the idea to make birthday packages came after seeing a Facebook post about a mother who had to return birthday supplies for her child to help pay bills after a local business shut down.
Unable to do much at the time, Crawley stopped by a store, picked up a cake mix, decorations and a card, and delivered them to the family.
“At least in that moment of chaos, they had one moment of joy and a moment of normalcy,” Crawley said. “Then I got the idea, well, what if we could just put together celebration packages, we deliver them and they don’t have to worry about that.”
Turning kindness into community action
Crawley began posting on Facebook, asking for donations to create “celebration packages” that families could use for birthdays and other milestones.
The response was immediate.
Since starting the effort in March 2024, Crawley has helped more than 200 families with celebration packages, all made possible through community donations and money from her own pocket.
“The food pantries, sometimes you can get lucky and get a cake mix or a sweet treat, but they don’t offer all of this,” Crawley said. “They’re just there to fill in the gap for your food, which is great. People need that, but at the same time, while they’re there, they’re probably stressing about, well, ‘What am I going to do for my kid’s birthday? How am I going to get the stuff to help them celebrate?’ Nobody needs to feel like that. No kids should have to feel the pain of not being celebrated.”
A mission rooted in experience
Crawley says her passion comes from personal experience.
“I didn’t have the best childhood,” Crawley said. “I did have quite a few birthdays that went uncelebrated, and I don’t think any child should experience that.”
More than a birthday
With help from the Muskogee community, Crawley continues to deliver moments of joy, one celebration at a time.
To donate, click here.
This article was originally published by News on 6. You can see the original story here.
