Today is my son Russell’s 11^th birthday. During Christmas, I took him with me to
Chicago as part of his birthday present and to meet Tom Tuohy, founder of Dreams for Kids. I interviewed Tom for my inspirational book, Living Rich. Each year, Tom has a Christmas party for 1200 children, many of whom were homeless, victims of domestic violence, or who had severe disabilities. We had decided to spend half of the day with the kids and the other half of the day at one of the best museums in Chicago. Russell has an inquisitive mind and loves discovering how things work. Visiting the Museum of Science and Industry, was the thing he was most excited about in the weeks leading up to our trip. I prepaid for the tickets on the internet so we would be able to get right in on a busy holiday weekend. We had ridden a train to the party location and so our return trip options were limited. When it came time to catch the train, Russell said he wanted to wait for the next train. When the second time came, Russell was very torn. He really wanted to go to the museum but he also wanted to stay at the party. I told him we couldn’t do both and that if we were going to go the museum, we’d have to take that train.

I told him that he could make the decision. I must confess, I recall being a little disappointed that he chose to leave. We were both having a great time. We walked across the street to the board the train. He seemed pensive as if already missing the kids who he had been helping to make Christmas cookies. As we were leaving, we were told that the arrival of Santa Clause was the highlight of the party and we would miss it if we left. We got to the train station and were moments away from getting on the train.  He said, “Daddy, I want to go back.  We can go to a museum any time. Let’s go see the kids experience Santa and help make more cookies.” We ran all the way back just in time to see the smiles and laughter as Santa arrived. A Gameboy or computer game was on his wish list. Instead he got a memory that will last him a life time. The kids gave my son a gift of exquisite joy by allowing him to help them.

At the party, Russell worked with Peggy Caldwell, Senior Vice President at ING Investment Management Americas, our new friend. I asked her about her experience there:   

“The word magical does come to mind. The term magic refers in this case as much to volunteers as to the kids.  I knew it would be a great day and a great experience. I also knew that I would meet people that I would want to maintain contact with.  There is this feeling that something is happening that is bigger than we are. Working at the cookie decorating table was amazing - we had no breaks and kids were lined sometimes two and three deep.  They kept coming back for more which was great.  The little kids were so serious about decorating the cookies and the big kids just wanted to pile it all on as many cookies as they were allowed. The cookies were a small way that the kids could spoil themselves.  Russell came over to me when one boy wanted to make three cookies at once - I said - let him go for it- he did and indeed came back a couple more times.   To me that is what this Christmas party was about - giving these kids a chance to soar, have fun, and experience magical memories.”   

That’s what birthdays should be about – magical memories.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com