A first birthday is usually about the baby. Meera's family turned hers into a two-day service weekend — and brought what looked like half of Atlanta with them.
Meera is one year old. She will not remember the weekend of June 21st and 22nd, 2025. But a lot of other people will.
Her family marked her first birthday the Sprinkling Smiles way: two days of cooking, packing, and serving in downtown Atlanta. The group photograph from that weekend, taken under the bandstand at Woodruff Park, is one of the largest we have — three rows deep, meal containers still in hand, a toddler in a pink dress somewhere near the middle.
Two full days meant the team could take its time. Meals went out unhurried, water was kept cold in coolers against the June heat, and volunteers stayed to talk with the people they served instead of packing up the moment the food ran out. That last part matters more than the menu.
There is a particular kind of joy in a first-birthday celebration where the birthday girl is the least busy person present. Meera mostly got carried around and admired. Everyone else worked.
It is a good way to begin a life — surrounded by people who decided that the way to celebrate you was to go feed somebody.
See the full photo album
Every photo from this event, straight from our camera rolls.
Open the album💜
Want to be at the next one?
Every drive runs on volunteers and home kitchens. There is always a job.
