As a mother, Schinnell Leake knows how important it is for her children to feel confident and have self-worth. After learning that more than 2,000 children live in homeless shelters throughout the Washington, D.C. area, Schinnell decided to form Extra-Ordinary Birthdays, the only organization of its kind in the capital that throws individualized birthday parties for homeless children to make them feel loved and valued. Using her party-planning background, Schinnell has thrown more than 400 birthday parties since the organization’s inception five years ago, and Extra-Ordinary Birthdays has partnered with six homeless shelters across Maryland and D.C.
