Forgotten birthdays, found

Every child has a birthday, and Andrea Gibson believes every child also should have a birthday party. Gibson, the communications and project administrator at Sandusky County Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC), said she has "absolutely" always had the heart to serve others. She said as a child she had the opportunity to volunteer with her mom during the Christmas season, and, as a Calvert student, was "required to do service hours during different times." "Attending St. Mary and Calvert," she said, "helped pave the way of being a service leader." However, Gibson said, she didn't fully realize the impact of service until she was an adult. Gibson said she was blessed with a supportive, loving family, and was moved by the fact that "a lot of people do not have that additional support when they are dealt a bad hand at life, or when a natural disaster occurs." Prior to joining SCEDC, Gibson said she had the opportunity to give of her time and talent while working at Hampton Inn. The hotel had created a "Hampton Inn Coat Camp" for Seneca County residents, she said, and also helped collect items for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. At the time, she said, while she was not able to give financially, she decided to "donate my time, and help pool resources to make an impact." Gibson said she was tasked with washing more than 300 coats and juggling cramped storage rooms to prepare space for donations. In 2014, Gibson received the Spirit of Hampton award and was a Hilton CEO Light and Warmth award candidate, she said. When Gibson began working at SCEDC in 2015, she joined Leadership Sandusky County to make connections and grow her presence in the county. Members of her Leadership class wanted to "stay involved with the community after graduation," she said, and together they founded the Sandusky County Young Professionals Group. A speaker for YPC presented information about foster parenting to the group in November of 2018, Gibson said, and, exactly nine months to the day after that event, "my husband and I were asked to place two nieces and a nephew into our home." "The journey through foster or kinship care is not easy emotionally, physically, or financially," Gibson said. "Because of our support system of family, friends and even strangers, it helped to make the transition as easy as it could be." Early in their fostering journey, Gibson said, she and her family realized that yearly birthday celebrations are not always a part of life for every child. The family's caseworker, she said, "agreed that a lot of youth in care do not have the opportunity to celebrate their birthday." Equipped with that revelation, Gibson said she reached out to Sandusky County Job and Family Services to find a solution to the problem of forgotten birthdays. In 2021, she said, "we launched Giving Birthdays," which seeks to provide birthday celebrations to children in foster or kinship care. In 2021, Giving Birthdays celebrated 53 birthdays in Sandusky County. Through the program, she said, "vulnerable youth know that they matter and are so worthy of a celebration." Caregivers, as well, feel supported and strengthened by the program, she said. In 2022, Giving Birthdays added Wood County to its scope of service, and Gibson said the program's goal is to "grow our footprint each year." Giving Birthdays is on pace to celebrate 130 birthdays this year, she said, and is planning to expand into Erie and Seneca counties in 2023. Gibson said the community has been wonderfully supportive of Giving Birthdays, responding generously to the program's need for both material and monetary donations. "Over a hundred community members have either provided a monetary donation or sponsored a birthday," she said. "This program would not be possible without the community support," Gibson said. As founder and president of Giving Birthdays, Gibson received a 2022 20 Under 40 Leadership Recognition Award on October 25. "She was among the 20 selected from a field of 168 candidates," according to a press release. "The 20 Under 40 program focuses on individuals in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan under the age of 40 who have distinguished themselves in their career and/or in the community," according to the release. Gibson said she is "overwhelmed" by the honor, and "felt very grateful to be nominated but never thought that (she) would be selected." As Gibson continues bringing the magic of birthday celebrations to foster and kinship families in Northwest Ohio, she recognizes "that young people today do want to make a difference in the world." "I truly believe that everyone has a passion and purpose in life, it just may take some time to figure out exactly what that is," she said. Gibson said her advice to youth is "nothing is going to change if you just sit back and do nothing. So do something. Reflecting on the mission of Giving Birthdays, Gibson said, "even if we only celebrated one birthday, I would like to think that we made a difference to that one youth in our community".