In youth-centric Hollywood, birthdays are sometimes met with mixed emotions. But I've found the best way that anyone can embrace any birthday is to remember how fortunate they are to be growing another year older and use it as an opportunity to give back.
That's why this year I'm Giving Up My Birthday - happily and readily - for children in need by supporting the nonprofit World of Children Awards in their tireless efforts to improve the lives of children worldwide.
Around the globe, a staggering number of children have precious few birthdays at all. The numbers are truly heartbreaking - each year more than ten million children won't even reach their fifth birthday because they will die from preventable causes like treatable illnesses or a lack of clean water.
That's why the World of Children Awards' work is so extraordinary, and so needed. Dubbed by the media as the "Nobel Prize© for Child Advocacy," the World of Children Awards searches the globe for extraordinary individuals who are spearheading organizations that dramatically improve childrens' lives and amplifies their efforts by providing vital funding and recognition to expand their impact.
Among the changemakers for children honored by the World of Children Awards are:
These remarkable individuals and others like them are the reason I've chosen to serve as an Ambassador for the World of Children Awards and they need support for their remarkable work far more than I need birthday gifts. In a world of gift bags and star treatment there is not one more thing I need or want. I am the luckiest girl in the world and I would like to celebrate the good fortune I have in growing another year older by giving back.
So with my birthday fast approaching, I'm asking friends and family to give a gift to World of Children instead of to me. Each of us can and should give back in this world when we can and birthdays are an opportune time to experience how giving to others can be a tremendous gift to ourselves.
To share a birthday donation in my name, please visit my birthday page, click on my name and offer a donation when you click on the brown button. Together, let's make a real difference for vulnerable children.
I had trouble with your page so I donated directly to their site.
Thanks for making me aware of this group. I already give to Ryan's Well.
Thanks for spreading the idea of giving instead of gifting.
But, upon further thought, it is a meaningful way an individual can be the change one hopes for.
She's married to Bobby Flay
Hummm. So not only do all the children in the world, get an invite to the party. But in addition you never get one year older?