Celebrating Hackney's Children

Our mission at The Birthday Club is for every child to feel celebrated on their birthday.  Children who are less likely to have a party themselves are also less likely to be invited to other children's parties. We want to battle social isolation one party at a time. Our hope is for each child experiencing difficult circumstances in their life, be supported to put any worries aside for their birthday and be celebrated and have FUN! 

A referral form will be completed at least 6 weeks before the child’s birthday.  The referral form, along with a risk assessment form, will be completed by a professional working with the child. The information will include: the child’s age, their interests, likes and dislikes, the kind of party they would like, and how many children they would like to invite.   The staple birthday party will be held at a Hackney venue and will include: party games, decorations, food, a birthday cake, and party bags.  However, if the child is interested in a specific birthday activity with a smaller number of children, we will seek to fund and arrange this.  The Birthday Club aims to nurture familial relationships and so the parents/ carers of the child will be very welcome and invited to the party, however they will not be expected to supervise.  The party will be organised and overseen by volunteers - there will be one volunteer for every 4 children in attendance.  All volunteers will be CRB checked and have undertaken safeguarding training. If you would like to be one of our amazing volunteers, we would love for you to get in touch. 

The Birthday Club will accept referrals from professionals working at Hackney Children's Services. The criteria is simply if the child would not have a celebration without the support of The Birthday Club.  Hackney Children’s Services work with a variety of vulnerable children.  The aim of The Birthday Club will be to ensure that no matter what else is going on in a child’s world, they will experience some Joy on their birthday.  After the birthday party, the child, the child’s Parent/ Carer, and the child’s Social Worker will all be given a feedback form to tell us about their experience; what they enjoyed and anything that could be better.  This will provide us with the information we will need to measure the benefit of the service.