When it comes to epic celebrations, birthday parties can pretty much take the cake. Holidays are fun and all, but a good birthday shindig (whether it's for you, a member of your fam, or your bestie) can be the highlight of the entire year. There's the gifts, the dessert, the singing, the candle-blowing... basically, it's all the best stuff thrown together into one day. Some people even celebrate their birthday WEEK, which is a whole other level of partying.
But birthdays aren't always a blast for everyone. For example, young people living in homeless and transitional living facilities might not get anything at all for their special day. That's why 17-year-old Daryn Dusansky decided to start The Balloon Project, a non-profit that, with the help of some incredible volunteers, hosts monthly birthday parties at homeless and transitional living facilities. Dusansky's mission: to bring smiles to all kids' faces on their birthdays.
We chatted with Dusansky to get the inside deets on starting a non-profit as a teen, how to truly impact a community, and her goals as she goes into her college career. Here's what she had to say...
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When did you start the Balloon Project? What made you start it?
Last year, I began my junior year of high school in New Orleans. My birthday was just a few days after my arrival. While I had a physical home, I felt displaced, and my thoughts went to children struggling for shelter whose birthdays fall to the wayside. In an effort to find my place in my new town, I set out to create an organization to celebrate monthly birthdays for children living in homeless shelters.
What has been the hardest part of running this project?
One of the biggest challenges was convincing my school and shelter leaders that, despite being run by teenagers, The Balloon Project was dependable and there would be a party each month. Logistically, each party is complex as there are many aspects that have to be managed. Thankfully, The Balloon Project volunteers want each party to be better than the last and can be counted on to do so.
What has running this project taught you?
Getting The Balloon Project off the ground required many leadership traits I did not initially know I possessed. Rolling up my sleeves, focusing on solutions, and connecting with people are all leadership qualities that has made The Balloon Project a success.
Why do you think community service is important?
Offering services to those in need and creating a positive impact is an important ingredient in being an active participant in a community. Community service teaches life lessons often not taught in school. At one party, a little boy and his father came up to thank me for hosting what was the boy’s first organized birthday party. I then thanked them for teaching me something, too. The father, who lived in a shelter with his son, looked at me puzzled as if he was not worthy of teaching me anything. I explained to him that he taught me to have the courage to ask for help when needed. I will never forget the hug and lesson he gave me.
What advice would you give to other young people who want to start their own projects to impact their communities?
Find a cause you are passionate about. I love birthday celebrations and want underprivileged children to have the opportunity to have celebrations, too. Passion is infectious — it motivates people to help and volunteer. I would advise any leader to ask their volunteers to share their ideas; giving everyone the opportunity for input has led to fabulous birthday parties at the shelter.
What has been your proudest moment thus far with The Balloon Project?
Experiencing the smile of hope on the faces of homeless children who have never had a birthday party before is a memory that will never fade.
Have you gotten any feedback from kids affected by the project? What do they say and how does it make you feel?
Our last event was a Halloween-themed birthday party where two young girls’ birthdays were celebrated. One of the girls had just turned five and we set up a photo booth where the kids could get polaroids of themselves. The birthday girl used all the props to turn herself into a witch and she posed for a picture with her mom. The mother then came up to me with tears in her eyes, telling me that it was the first actual picture she owned of herself and her daughter. In that moment, I realized the powerful impact of small acts of kindnesse.
Daryn Dusansky currently lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Balloon Project is far from her first experience with community service. Dusansky has volunteered in Cape Town, South Africa, worked at a hospitality NGO in Siem Reap, Cambodia and created a library in an orphanage in Jaipur, India. Next fall, she will be attending Emory University as a freshman. You can follow The Balloon Project on Instagram here.
As the digital deputy editor of Seventeen, I help our site director oversee content on the site and across all of our social media platforms. In 2013, I published a DIY book for beginners called InstaCraft (Ulysses Press). In 2015, I served as a jewelry designer for The Jewelry Recipe Book (Artisan). Before coming to Seventeen, I held positions at The New Yorker, Allure, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Reader's Digest and BuzzFeed.
