This Orange County Nonprofit Is Spreading Joy to Kids, One Gift at a Time
During the holiday season, it’s easy to get swept up in the retail madness. For many, gift-giving is one of the best parts of this time of year—and not because of the gifts themselves, but because of the recipients, especially if they’re kids.
Giving gifts, no matter how small or simple, is a love language. Regardless of the occasion, gifts can help us show others that they’re loved, appreciated and seen. For Harry and Kim Bagramian, co-founders of Project Giving Light, this was a feeling they wanted to share with the underserved children in their community year-round.
Project Giving Light began nearly eight years ago when the pair and their young children hosted a birthday celebration. “We started pretty simply—it was just me, my wife and my kids giving birthday parties to local underserved kids at a school in Orange,” Harry Bagramian says. “One thing we recognized is that these kids weren’t being celebrated on their birthday. At the time, it just hit us that the value of a birthday celebration and feeling loved on your birthday is so important. It’s something that kids remember their entire life.
“It started right here in Orange County with one school. We then expanded to multiple sites throughout OC and started giving individual parties to underserved kids all over the county.”
Although Project Giving Light’s growth over the last eight years has been momentous, it wasn’t always linear. “Prior to COVID shutdowns, I actually had a stroke. I had lost vision in my eye, and it forced me to slow down,” Bagramian shares.
During this time, Bagramian began thinking about different ways they could continue their mission, and this resulted in the Project Giving Light Birthday Box.
“We partnered up with the Orange County Foster care agency and started pretty basic,” Bagramian explains. In the beginning, Bagramian instructed people to grab a shoe box from their closet, fill it with items listed on a provided guide and drop it off so the organization could ship it out. “One box turned into 10, 10 boxes turned into 100 and 100 turned into 1,000.”
Not only were the Birthday Boxes an incredible volunteer initiative that people loved getting involved with, but they also helped Project Giving Light expand its mission to children throughout Orange County, into LA, up to San Francisco and beyond.
“We’ve given out close to 65,000 boxes.” Bagramian shares. “When we started, it was one school in Orange County with 40 kids.” Today, Project Giving Light is headquartered in Newport Beach, has a small but mighty staff and has a warehouse filled with thousands of Birthday Boxes that are sent out to over 58 cities across nine states. The organization has even sent over 500 boxes overseas to children in Armenia. He says, “We just want these children to know that they’re loved and that the world has not forgotten about them—that we haven’t forgotten about them.”
How to Support Project Giving Light This Holiday Season
If you’re interested in getting involved with Project Giving Light, the holidays are the perfect time to start. Here are a few ways you can participate in their mission.
Donate
“During the holidays we try to increase awareness and give people the opportunity to be a part of what we’re doing,” Bagramian says. “The most tangible way is donations.”
Starting at $35 a month, your donation could help our Orange County charity give Birthday Boxes to children all over the country. Project Giving Light is also running a fundraising campaign with a goal of reaching $100,000 by the end of the year to help fund over 2,500 Birthday Boxes.
The nonprofit is also open to receiving donated hygiene products, clothing, toys and creative items to put in Birthday Boxes or—for teens—gift cards of $15 amounts.
Volunteer or Sponsor
“We have volunteer events throughout the year that people can sign up for,” says Bagramian. Another way to get involved includes organizing a Birthday Box Drive with friends, family or coworkers. “People have picked up a bunch of our empty Birthday Boxes, taken them, filled them up and brought them back. We don’t have a huge staff…so that’s really helpful,” he adds. Bagramian also shares that Project Giving Light is open to teaming up with the right corporate sponsors or partners.
Holiday Toy Drive
“During the holidays we do toy drives. We give out about 7,000 toys during Christmas all over California,” Bagramian explains. “Orange County Foster Care gets a bunch of toys, and we give them out. We even send some toys up to San Francisco! We kind of cover California with Christmas, but the majority stays in Orange County.”
Learn More
Project Giving Light’s biggest goal is to change lives one birthday and one holiday at a time. To get involved or learn more about how you can help support Project Giving Light, visit their website, reach out to the team directly or follow on social media to stay informed about upcoming events and campaigns.
Project Giving Light
@projectgivinglight
Born and raised near the Pacific Coast, Jordan Nishkian is a California girl through and through. She graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a BA in Creative Writing and a BA in Anthropology, and her favorite place to be is curled up in a comfy chair with a book in her hand and a pen in her hair.
