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Sudburian celebrates birthday by giving back (4 photos)

For Amanda White, turning a quarter of a century old on Jan. 20 had to have a more significant meaning than it being a milestone birthday.
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Amanda White turned 25 on Jan. 20, but instead of going out to a restaurant, she handed out gift bags at the Elgin Street Mission. Supplied photo.
For Amanda White, turning a quarter of a century old on Jan. 20 had to have a more significant meaning than it being a milestone birthday.

So, instead of going for dinner and drinks with friends on her 25th birthday, she went to the Elgin Street Mission and handed out gift bags to the city's less fortunate.

For weeks, White and her friends had collected items for the gift bags. They were filled with a mix of hats, mitts, scarfs and sweaters, Tim Horton's gift cards, thermoses, toys, children's books and stuffed animals.

“My goal was 25 baskets, and we far surpassed it, ending up with 41,” White said. “It was wonderful to see my friends and even local businesses realize how important it is to help those in need, no matter what the occasion.”

White said leading up to her birthday, her boyfriend and friends had ideas of bringing her to a restaurant or to a spa for a birthday gift.

“While those are amazing, I thought there could be better ways to spend so much money,” she said. “My dad teased me and said that I am a quarter of a century old, and it got me thinking. This is a milestone birthday, and I wanted to do something big.”

At first, she thought of helping out at the Blue Door Soup Kitchen, or another charity, but as it turns out, the soup kitchen had a full complement of volunteers already for Jan. 20.

After a bit of brainstorming, White came up with the idea of gift bags. She put together a Facebook page, where she invited all her friends and family to help her — and they responded in droves.

“I thought that 25 baskets (large gift bags) full of necessities like shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, toothbrushes, etc., plus warm winter outdoor clothing and even indoor clothing would be very useful to some,” she said. “I am actually misty eyed thinking about all of the amazing and overwhelming support and encouragement I received.”

She even received donations from the Apollo Restaurant, Value Village, and The Little Fireside Company.

Those on the receiving end of the gift bags were very appreciative, she said.

“We handed out everything within 10 minutes,” she said. “If there had been anything extra, we had planned to walk down to the area around the Salvation army to look for anyone else who could use the bags. People were very appreciative, polite and, overall, I am so pleased to say that the baskets were very well received.”

Plans are already in the works for next year's birthday celebration, she said.

“I even have friends telling me that for their upcoming birthdays they would like to give back to the community in a similar fashion, which warms my heart.”

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Arron Pickard

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