No matter their circumstances, everyone deserves to feel that their presence in the world is noticed and valued. That’s why celebrating birthdays is such an essential part of family life.

The Eden Prairie Eagles boys hockey teams will be doing their part to help local families celebrate through their service project this year. 

On Dec. 4, the junior varsity and varsity teams will partner with PROP Food to collect donated items for birthday bag kits. PROP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that assists Eden Prairie and Chanhassen residents with food, housing and employment needs.

They will compete against the Chanhassen Storm teams. This matchup is a fitting backdrop for the service project since PROP serves both the Eden Prairie and Chanhassen communities.

Birthday bags consist of items put together by PROP to provide client families with the opportunity to celebrate birthdays.

Spectators and community members are invited to donate new, unopened cake mix, frosting and candles from 4:15 p.m. until about 9:15 p.m. at the Eden Prairie Community Center rink, 16700 Valley View Road.

The teams’ goal is to receive enough donations on game day to assemble 200 birthday bags for PROP to provide to families.

Sharon Moten, service project lead, said the team is focusing on receiving the three main staples of the bags: boxed birthday cake mix, frosting and candles.

“People will have the option to contribute to the PROP general fund or contribute specific items for the birthday bags — or both,” Moten said. “A table will be set up for PROP so people can learn about PROP and the services available for people in our community.”

The team will also accept cash donations, which they will use to purchase additional items for the bags.

They also welcome 8-by-10-inch gift bags in excellent condition.

Prima Sisinni, PROP’s director of development and communications, notes the significance of families having the supplies to celebrate birthdays “because we know that is such an integral part that does often go by the wayside for clients who are coming to us.”

“Going back to PROP’s vision of neighbors helping neighbors — this is children helping children,” Sisinni said. “I think having kids within our community bringing those items for other kids within our community is amazing.”

In addition to the main staples of cake mix, frosting and candles, PROP also supplements with other items such as plasticware or napkins.

At the event, Moten said, “we will prioritize being able to create the basic bags. With extra funds that we raise … we would add even more to the bags as a team, such as plates and napkins.”

On Dec. 7, the junior varsity and varsity hockey teams and team managers will assemble the bags at PROP as the second part of their service project.

The team organizers hope that this two-fold project will impact the team members as well as the community. “The teams will create the bags and also learn more about PROP Food and food insecurity in general,” Moten said.

“I think just giving back to your community and partnering with a local community is so valuable. When people think about who’s in need, they don’t necessarily think about the southwest suburbs and Eden Prairie,” she said. “They think it’s somewhere else. So I think for them to actually hear about it and see it and do something about it is hopefully memorable for them.”

Moten hopes the team will also realize that as high schoolers, they can make a difference in the community.

“It doesn’t matter how old you are,” she said. “Just learning and understanding that the need is everywhere and that at any age you can contribute to make a difference is valuable.”

EPHS varsity head coach Lincoln Nguyen, in his first year leading the program, also acknowledges the importance of service.

“While we compete hard on the ice, this initiative reminds us that some of our most important victories happen off it,” Nguyen said. “Coming together with another program for a shared cause reflects the character, leadership, and compassion we strive to instill in our athletes.”

Community ties past and present

Sisinni and Moten both saw firsthand the impact of PROP on the community as kids themselves. While planning the team service project, the two discovered a connection they already had through PROP, highlighting the sense of community that PROP has brought to Eden Prairie since its beginning in 1971.

“Both Sharon’s mom and my dad were fairly integral during the beginnings of PROP when it was still in city hall,” Sisinni said. “Both of our parents know each other just from interactions from being involved there.”

Sisinni’s father owned a restaurant that operated through the Garden Room in Eden Prairie City Center and often donated food or made specific items for PROP. “And sometimes he would bring donuts over there for the kids that he would make from the kitchen out of the Garden Room,” she recalled.

Moten’s mother, a city employee at the time, also did accounting for PROP as a volunteer.

“I remember as a kid going into the little closet — or what felt like a closet to me — in the city offices,” she said. “It has grown so much since it was that little office. And there are still all these different connections over the many, many years that PROP has existed.”

“Any team or group — in this case specifically hockey teams — is built on teamwork and trust and community, and that’s what PROP’s mission is: ‘neighbors helping neighbors,’” Sisinni said.

Neighbors who nourish

The flexibility and variety of this project lend themselves to school groups, faith groups and businesses looking for a way to serve together and fill a need.

According to Sisinni, “The birthday bag projects are fairly simple for organizations and groups to do and put together, and they’re things that we don’t have available all the time throughout the year. But when larger groups want to do a project, it’s a really easy one for us to get organized and have available for families who may not have the ability to select all the birthday party items like a cake and some balloons and things like that.”

In addition to the birthday bags, PROP offers burrito bowl bags and chili bags.

“These use mainly shelf-stable items because that is what is easiest to be able to assemble and have on shelves ready to go,” Sisinni said.

PROP welcomes other bag suggestions that fulfill those criteria. “I challenge the community to come to us with additional ideas!” she said.

“This is something that can happen organically outside of our walls. But something that I’m really trying to do is get the community inside our walls and see what we do because I think that there is a lot of opportunity for people to learn about the different services we offer,” Sisinni said.

“I think everybody knows we’re a food shelf, but we also offer short-term financial assistance, mental health counseling, employment counseling, (and) case management, because we know food insecurity doesn’t happen in a bubble,” she added. “Often, food insecurity is the calling card for other areas where clients may need assistance, so we provide those financial and wraparound services. The more that we can get community in our doors learning about everything we do, the more they can help amplify the importance of what we do for people who may be in need or who may not have known and feel drawn to that part of our mission.”