When people imagine a season of giving, Christmas is what usually comes to mind. But there’s a gift-giving holiday most people forget, one more personal, with less tinsel and more streamers: birthdays. Freshman Yasmine Davis, however, hasn’t forgotten. Her Make a Birthday Wish organization has fulfilled the wishes of hundreds of underprivileged children.

The organizations creation can be attributed to one evening in 2009, when Davis watched an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show.

“Oprah was talking about the increase in homeless children,” Davis said. “Since I love having my birthday, I thought I could give them their own party.”

That was the start of Make a Birthday Wish, a nonprofit that provides birthday parties for underprivileged youth all over the Bay Area. The organization has grown and flourished, throwing parties for hundreds of children, including 300 children scheduled for 2012 alone.

The actual parties take a significant amount of preparation. Thrown at the beginning of every month, each celebration is for children with birthdays in the preceding month. The week before, Davis and her friends shop for a list of gifts specified by parents. They use money from fundraisers and bake sales as well as from Davis’s family. On Friday, the day most parties take place, Davis buys decorations, cake and pizza to take down to West Valley Community Services. There the party begins, as children get serenaded with the birthday song and open their gifts.

“It’s really nice when I give them their gifts and their faces light up,” Davis said.

In addition to gift giving, Davis also takes the time to individually talk with the birthday boys and girls, asking them about their experiences and interests.

Besides receiving the joy of giving, Davis has been featured by CBS San Francisco and has won a Jefferson Award for public service. But she doesn’t want to just stop there; she hopes to expand the nonprofit into other states and countries. She’s even considering starting other organizations aimed towards providing scholarships or helping animals.

Davis believes that helping other in this way has improved her outlook on her own life.

“Some of the kids would ask for a bed because they wouldn’t have one, and they’re just sleeping on the floor,” Davis said. “It makes me appreciate the little things in life.”