Birthdays are generally an indulgent affair, but not only did two Elmira girls choose to share the date and their guests with each other, they also turned a day of receiving into a chance to give back.

“We wanted to do a donation so that people didn’t have to worry about presents and we wanted to give instead of worrying about ourselves,” Edwards said.

What started out as a way to attend each other’s parties, turned into a way to collect their gifts of giving from their rambunctious, face-painted friends. “We wouldn’t be able to go to each other’s birthday parties because [Lauren] is going to Cuba,” Edwards said.

Rintoul chimed in, “I’d be gone for hers so we decided to have one together.”

The local food bank just seemed like a good fit for a good deed, both girls agreed. Their event collected enough non-perishable goods – cereal, pasta, mixes, sauces, cake mix and the like – to fill three laundry baskets by the end of last Friday evening’s party at the WMC, said mom Lisa Edwards.

With one good deed out of the way, are there more under consideration?

“I haven’t really thought about it that much, just living the moment,” Edwards said.