• Incoming freshman provides birthday parties for shelter kids

    Laura LeLaura Le, a soon-to-be freshman at Baylor, grew up loving to bake, and she and her cousin, Allison Nguyen, decided put their skills to use — not as a business, but as a service. Four years ago, the pair of teenagers began throwing birthday parties for kids who likely would not have otherwise been able to celebrate: children living in shelters.

    KHOU-TV profiled the cousins recently (click the link for video), sharing their story with the rest of the pair’s hometown of Houston. The report showed how Le and Nguyen bring not just cupcakes but music, games and face painting to shelters around the area — an incredible gift for not only the birthday boy or girl, but his or her mother as well. “I almost started crying,” said the mother of one girl, Kaitlyn, who got to celebrate her sixth birthday thanks to the girls.

    Le, a magna cum laude graduate of Clear Lake High School, will begin her Baylor career this fall, and she says she hopes to continue to throw parties for children in need right here in Waco.

    Sic ’em, Laura!

    [8/22/11 update: Laura and Allison received the Jefferson Award for Houston in August. KPRC Channel 2 in Houston ran a story on the pair in mid August.]