Has anyone ever heard of this kind of kid's birthday gift?

[Planogirl]

My brother and his family have been dealing with problems from black mold contamination for a long time now. It seemed to affect the kids the most but the youngest named William seems to be about recovered from his problems.

We received an invitation for+- the little boy's 2nd birthday with this note:

"In lieu of gifts we are asking for donations to the early childhood intervention program that provides dedicated therapists who have supported our entire family and aided William's recovery. Please send your donations to: {address}"

I understand that they might feel grateful and it's always nice to donate to something but in lieu of a child's birthday gift? I would love any and all opinions about this one.

 

[debster812]

PG.

We actually did something like this for DS's first B-day. We had just lost my best friend to cancer 3 weeks after his birth. Her brother (DH's best friend) decided to ride in a 2-day fund raiser bike ride here in MA called the Pan-Mass Challenge.

We asked folks to bring a donation for him (you need to pony up $1900 or so to ride) in lieu of a gift for Ian. However, I will say, that at a year old, Ian certainly did not 'miss out' on gifts, and there were of course people who did both.

So I guess I was no help at all! Sorry

Debbie

 

[KimRaye]

I think it's a wonderful idea. And, since he's only +/- 2yo, he won't miss the gifts and, I'm sure some will bring something anyway, as debster said.

 

[Planogirl]

Well...we can't go to the party since they live elsewhere but I guess that we could send a nice card at least. I'd like to send the boy a gift certificate to a toy store since we sent one to his brother a few months ago but I guess it won't matter since he's so young.

This still seems unusual to me and not because of the charity. We regularly give to charities so that's fine. I'm just used to giving to a favorite charity for someone who's aware of such things. Not that this is bad, just different for me.

I'll quit rambling now. Thanks for your thoughts!