Six years ago, Ashton Ryan, a Charlottesville resident, saw a kid without a jacket walking by during the winter. He thought about giving away his jacket to keep the stranger warm, but decided that he could do something even better. His birthday was coming up in a few weeks, so he asked his parents to use the money they would have spent on his gifts to organize an event to collect winter jackets for those who may not be able to afford them otherwise. So Ashton’s Birthday Wish was born. The first year of the event, Ashton collected 600 jackets to donate, and the numbers have only gone up in following the six years. The coat drive has collected more than 6,000 winter jackets to date, and not only have the numbers grown, but the event itself has as well.

This year, Ashton’s Birthday Wish was held in the parking lot of Fashion Square, and it was not a small event. There was live music, radio station hosts, face painting, raffles, a photo booth, and even a bouncy house. Many different businesses and foundations have generously chosen to sponsor the event such as Applebee’s, Bojangles, Pepsi, Costco, End Games, the AWARE foundation, and Ronald McDonald House.

Ashton is quoted saying “Ashton’s Birthday Wish will always be a foundation that helps kids, families, and other organizations who care about our community!” So get out there next year and do something for your neighbors. Take a lesson from Ashton: there’s more than enough to go around, we just have to put in a little bit of work.