From opening presents to chowing down on cake, a person’s birthday is widely recognized as their special day. On Wednesday night, LSU students took to the Student Union to pass a little birthday magic to a group of children who need it most.
Injustice Reform at LSU hosted their inaugural “Mailbox of Joy” initiative, inviting students to make birthday cards for children in juvenile detention programs. The event was free and open to all who wanted to participate.
The event was led by club president and founder Ashawna Smith. She said that the cards the attendees made will be sent to juvenile programs around Baton Rouge and delivered to incarcerated children on their birthdays.
“I think a lot of kids that are in detention centers don’t really get the love and appreciation they deserve during their birthdays just because they’ve committed a crime,” Smith said.“But we still believe that they should get the love that they deserve for their birthday.”
The cards included messages congratulating their recipients on making it through another year. Some offered words of encouragement, urging children to keep their heads held high as they continue to navigate the juvenile justice system.
Many of the students who attended the event worried that children in juvenile detention centers often feel forgotten.
“We just want to encourage them that they are not forgotten, that they still have a future because having a birthday means that you still have life left to live and that you made the full circle of seeing another year,” said the club’s co-community service chair, Krishawndalyn Clark.
Attendees were also quick to emphasize the importance of giving incarcerated children a sense of hope for the future.
“I hope they feel a sense of belonging, and that mistakes are made,” said the club’s Community Service Chair, N’Khia Zachery. “The grass is definitely greener on the other side and to just keep a positive attitude while they’re still there.”
Even though the students who attended Mailbox of Joy did not know the children they were writing to, many of them still felt a strong sense of compassion for incarcerated youth.
“It feels good knowing that someone that I may not know still feels loved by me and the members of my organization, because that’s all we really want,” Smith said. “To spread joy, and love and just provide service for other juveniles and people that are in the system.”
It feels no different than writing to somebody that I have met,” said freshman Derek Kately. “Everybody’s a person. They deserve to be acknowledged by other people. I just want to make them feel better.”
