7-year-old golden birthday giveback

This paid piece is sponsored by Children’s Home Society.

Children’s birthdays are typically a time for celebration, cake, ice cream and presents.

But for one little Sioux Falls girl, giving gifts was more important than receiving them.

Meet 7-year-old philanthropist Eleanor Shatto. This past December, she celebrated her seventh birthday on Dec. 7 — making it her golden birthday. She had a special birthday party with friends and festivities. But this year, instead of keeping her presents, Eleanor decided to have a golden birthday giveback party and donate all her toys to an organization of her choice.

The idea started in 2023 when Eleanor’s cheer team organized a toy drive for Christmas. She had the idea to donate some of her birthday presents to the toy drive.

After many family conversations about how the Shatto family could help others, Eleanor went to her mom, Sara, and told her she wanted to do something extra special for her golden birthday. Luckily for Sara, she knew how to make Eleanor’s dreams a reality with the idea from a friend who had been hosting birthday giveback parties for her children for the past 10 years.

Eleanor was so excited to plan her party and tell her friends what they would be doing, but first, she had to find an organization that accepted toys at Christmastime.

“We called Children’s Home Society on a whim, hoping they were still accepting donations,” Eleanor said.

“We talked about how the kids at Children’s Home Society may be there unexpectedly this Christmas or may not have a stable situation at home. I thought this would be a great way to bring them comfort. Plus, I think it feels good to be kind to others!”

Next, the Shatto family got to work planning the party. They created a birthday invitation with instructions for everyone to bring an unwrapped new toy. A note was included explaining that all gifts would be donated to Children’s Home Society. Several families were inspired by Eleanor’s kindness and brought more than one toy to contribute.

“Being 7 is such an exciting time to receive presents. It’s hard to not be selfish and want it all — especially with a December birthday,” Sara said.

“There were some cool gifts that I could tell she wanted to keep. But after talking about how she could share her joy, love and excitement with other kids, she knew she was making the right decision.”

Eleanor said that even though it was fun seeing all the toys her friends brought, she “had more fun carrying all of the presents into Children’s Home Society!”

This is not the first time the Shatto family has done acts of service together. This past Thanksgiving, the five of them delivered turkeys to families in need. Sara said the family has frequent conversations about volunteering. Both she and her husband, Justin, remind their kids that “you don’t need to be a powerful person to make an impact on someone’s life.”

“We often talk about our blessings and ways to bless others,” Sara said. “As a family with three young kids who are just getting to an age where volunteering is more understood, we are excited to contribute more in the future.”

Justin and Sara hope their kids continue to see the value in volunteering and that one person’s actions can inspire other people to do good deeds.

“This has been such a fun way to expose our friends and extended family to the needs of our community,” Sara said. “We hope our children continue to see the value in doing birthday giveback parties. We want them to live and give with purpose.”

At 7 years old, Eleanor already understands the power of giving with a purpose. On Christmas morning, she was so excited that she pulled her mom aside to ask, “Do you think she was surprised?”

“Was who surprised?” Sara asked.

“The little girl who opened the doll with the blue hair!” Eleanor exclaimed.

At that moment, Sara was astonished by Eleanor’s question. It had almost been three weeks since they dropped off the toys. And amid the magical Christmas morning excitement, Eleanor was thinking about whomever received one of her special gifts.

“I’m sure she loved it,” Sara told Eleanor.

The Shatto family plans to continue birthday giveback parties and hopes Eleanor’s actions inspire other kids — and adults — to get involved in their communities.