The One Wish Project, a charitable effort founded by an Andover High School student to provide birthday celebrations to children experiencing homelessness is celebrating its 5th anniversary on June 2 with a gala at the Andover Country Club.
Light a Candle Gala will feature hors d’oeuvres a birthday cake competition between four Boston-area pastry chefs, a silent auction, and a candle lighting ceremony. The event will be emceed by Sue Tabb, David O’Leary, and Kendra Petrone, the hosts of Morning Magic on Magic 106.7 FM. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online.
“The Light a Candle Gala will raise awareness and funds as One Wish Project grows to serve more and more homeless children on the North Shore and in Greater Boston,” says Tabb.
The One Wish Project began in 2017 as a personal project of Hannah Finn, who was then just 14 years old. Wanting to do something to serve her community, Finn decided to use her own money and baking skills to buy presents and make a birthday cake a child living at the Lazarus House homeless shelter in Lawrence.
From that first celebration, she decided to expand her operation to help make birthdays for children in struggling families as special as they had always been for her. Today, the One Wish Project works with eight partner shelters and has brightened the birthdays of hundreds of children. Finn now attends Quinnipiac University and is still involved, though her mother oversees the day-to-operations of the organization.
Since the beginning, Finn has received wide recognition for her work from organizations including the Northeast Massachusetts Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, the Mary Jo Brown Foundation, and the Boston Celtics.