Party Planner's Dream is to Help Sick Kids

Ask any child where they would want to spend their birthday. Chances are they won’t say, “in a hospital.”

But for children who have no choice, Stephanie Frazier Grimm, owner of wants to make the milestone a little bit easier to bear.

When she saw a tweet that the Huffington Post was holding a contest with the cast from MTV’s The Buried Life posing the question, “What do you want to do before you die?” Grimm knew she had the answer.

In her entry, Grimm shared the story of her Godson Christian, who was in the NICU after being born eight weeks premature. Christian’s mom, also Grimm’s best friend, said she could not imagine celebrating the new-born’s birthday in the hospital a year later.

It was that moment when Grimm was struck with an idea.

“I wanted to bring the party to kids in the hospital,” Grimm told Patch. “I’ve been sitting on the idea for about a year and a half, and this is the kick-start.”

Grimm’s idea is thinking inside the box, literally. She wants to start a nonprofit organization that organizes boxes with everything needed to have a kid’s party in his or her hospital room.

The organization would outfit hospitals with the pre-made boxes and when the time came for their birthdays, children could pick the box with a desired theme.

She sent her wish into the Huffington Post two weeks ago and waited.

Grimm said she was surprised to get an email from the contest, and even more surprised to know her entry had been selected as one of the top 25 submissions.

“I’ve already gotten 12 emails from people saying it’s inspiring,” she said. “Others already want to start chapters in [other cities.] It’s crazy and amazing.”

In another twist of fate, she received the email the same day Christian, her inspiration, was going in for another surgery.

The submissions will be whittled down to the top ten entries, which will then be voted on by the readers. The winner will receive the help of the Huffington Post and the Buried Life cast to bring their wish to life.

Even if Grimm doesn’t win the help of the Huffington Post and the Buried Life crew, she said the contest has given her the momentum to turn the dream into a reality.

“I believe children should be celebrated on their birthday,” she wrote to the Huffington Post. “It is their moment, and no one can take that away from them.”