Chicago: Sharing the joy of birthdays with children in need, the CML Unit of St. Mary’s Knanaya Catholic Church, Chicago, organized its August celebration at Yuvajyothi Street Boys Home in Nagpur as part of its ongoing birthday charity initiative, “Share with Joy, Prayer with Care.” The celebration was held on August 30.

On the same day, a special blessing service was held at St. Mary’s Parish in Chicago for parishioners celebrating their birthdays during the month of August. The unique charitable initiative aims to share the happiness of parishioners’ birthdays with children who are in need of care and support.

Yuvajyothi Street Boys Home is a major initiative of the Indian Centre for Integrated Development (ICID), a social development organization led by the Indian Dominican Fathers. The home provides safe and loving accommodation, care and education for 40 school-going boys from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Along with providing a family-like environment, the institution focuses on the overall development of the children through education, healthcare, counseling, life-skills training and personality development. These efforts are aimed at helping the children grow into confident, responsible and self-reliant individuals.

Yuvajyothi Street Boys Home is the 11th institution to receive support through the “Share with Joy, Prayer with Care” initiative. The distinctive feature of the project is its effort to transform personal birthday celebrations into opportunities to bring happiness and hope into the lives of others.

The birthday charity initiative will conclude next month, with the final phase scheduled to be held at Baalikabhavan in Punnathura.

By encouraging people to move beyond celebrating their birthdays for themselves and instead share their happiness with others, the initiative conveys the beautiful message: “Share the Joy, Pray with Care.”