Coupeville resident Lexie Ogden, a 23-year-old mother of three boys, created a charitable group that provides birthday supplies for families who can’t afford to celebrate their children’s birthdays traditionally.

Ogden launched The Birthday Pantry in August, which serves children under 18 and adults over the age of 55. The group collects donated gifts, cake materials and party supplies from community members and then delivers them to people for their birthday celebrations.

After helping a friend find assistance for her child’s birthday, Ogden realized just how common it is for parents to struggle to cover the cost of birthday party essentials. Ogden said her boys — ages 4 years, 2 years and 8 months old — are her biggest inspirations for this project.

“When my oldest was little, we couldn’t really afford birthday parties because we were so young,” she said. “We received help from Readiness to Learn, a foundation in South Whidbey that provided gifts and support for birthdays, and I took inspiration from them.”

These special moments are important to her boys, she said, and just as she wouldn’t want them to miss out because of a financial struggle, she intends to make sure other kids don’t miss out either.

Ogden’s team formed naturally; the south admin, Jordan Ashworth, saw one of Ogden’s posts and offered to help, while the two north admins, Etepa Maines and Kelsey Duprie, who are part of her military community, also volunteered their support.

Ogden reflected on her own childhood birthdays, saying they taught her the importance of forming lasting memories. After posting online and reaching out to families personally, The Birthday Pantry has already celebrated the birthdays of 22 children.

The birthday pantry shared a text thread on Facebook from a mom who received a birthday basket for her son.

“You’ve got me bawling my eyes out, this is so much more than I was even expecting,” it read. “I appreciate you so much from one mom to another. Never in my life has anybody been so so so generous.”

Though their team is small, they currently assist families in both Skagit and Island counties and hope to expand to more regions as they grow, Ogden said.

To donate, gifts can be purchased on Amazon and delivered directly to an admin’s address. Items can also be brought to an admin or arranged for pickup.

Ogden said they are exploring a partnership with Walmart and possibly organizing a drive at the Dollar Store. The group is also currently looking for community partners to place donation bins with. For now, however, their priority is getting nonprofit registration approved.

“What should be a joyful occasion can easily become a really bad source of stress,” Ogden said. “No family or child should have that stress of not being able to celebrate.”

Families who wish to receive birthday assistance can reach out through the Facebook page, The Birthday Pantry.

Check out the Amazon wish list linked on its Facebook for donation suggestions. All donations are welcome, but at the moment, their biggest needs are toy and cake donations. For more information, contact The Birthday Pantry on Facebook.