Giving Back

I'd been struggling this year to figure out what I wanted to do for my birthday. I was craving something more than the usual dinner with friends, but I wasn't able to articulate more specifically what I wanted.

Then this week I attended the National Philanthropy Day luncheon and at it I heard a really amazing story. Suzanne West runs these infamous stairs in Calgary every year on her birthday. For every person who does a flight with her she gives $1 to a local charity. Now in its fifth year, her birthday celebration has raised more than $60,000 for homeless families in Calgary. That's when it clicked. I wanted my birthday to be about spending time with my friends and making the world a better place together. 

Once I had that clarity it all came together pretty quickly. I couldn't imagine a more fun way to celebrate my birthday than baking with my nearest and dearest and then sharing those sweet treats with charities we hold close to our hearts. So today a small group of beautiful humans I'm blessed to have in my life and I baked 32 dozen muffins/cookies in honour of my 32nd birthday. Tomorrow we'll take them to give to staff and beneficiaries of charities in Calgary including Accessible Housing, Calgary Foundation and Vivo for Healthier Generations. My deepest hope is that these muffins and cookies we've filled with love will inspire others to pay the kindness forward and the world will be filled with a little more caring tomorrow. 

It's my favourite birthday to date and the wheels are already turning about how I'll top this for my 33rd.