Box of Balloons, a nonprofit charity aimed at providing low-income children a birthday celebration, is set to celebrate its second birthday while delivering its 1,000th box next month.
Since the Phoenix Box of Balloons chapter was founded in 2021, the organization has touched the lives of hundreds of Arizona families. For children in the community who may not otherwise have a birthday celebration, Box of Balloons provides a fun celebration with decorations to give those children a birthday to remember.
Amy Cohen, founder of Box of Balloons Arizona, said she accidentally stumbled upon the organization in a search for a community service opportunity after a move to Arizona several years ago.
“I was looking into opportunities for volunteering in Arizona and kind of stumbled across Box of Balloons and realized that there was a lot of need in the Valley, and so we started a chapter here,” she said.
The Box of Balloons charity sees every child as deserving of love, celebration and feeling special on their birthday. Box of Balloons’ mission is to provide children with a birthday celebration, including gifts, decorations and birthday cake supplies.
After a slow start, Box of Balloons Phoenix quickly gained traction in the Valley, gaining referral partners and collaborations with local nonprofits and community organizations.
“Initially we didn’t have very much interest, which was kind of disappointing,” Cohen said. “But as we just kept doing more outreach, we started to get some positive responses. All of a sudden, we were just overwhelmed with the number of referrals that we were getting, and so we ended up doing close to 400 boxes in our first year.”
Box of Balloons has partnered with other organizations like Lutheran Social Services, Southwest Human Development, Voices for CASA Children and some domestic violence charities and schools in order to identify children in the community in need of a birthday celebration.
This April, Box of Balloons will celebrate its 1,000th birthday box delivered. The charity is continuously seeking new volunteers, donors and community partners.
“We are thrilled to celebrate 1,000 boxes delivered, and the impact we have made in the lives of so many families in Arizona," Cohen said.
For more information on Box of Balloons Arizona and how to support its mission, visit at boxofballoons.org/
arizona.