Just before Gwynne Fulmer’s 70th birthday, she was having an existential crisis.
“One day I realized I was almost 70 years old,” she said. “I imagined what the number 70 would be like. Does it look like me? Do you know how to get to 70? It seemed like a very revolutionary number.”
She concludes that the best way to soothe a troubled mind is to throw a party, any party at all.
Fulmer recalled seeing a Facebook post about someone having a birthday party at the Midwest Food Bank in Gilbert, Arizona, where she had volunteered for about 11 years, and wanting to do the same.
“I decided to give it a try,” she said. She started planning her own birthday party at the Midwest Food Bank.
After Fulmer posted about the food bank party on social media, current and former co-workers, neighbors, family members, ward and stake members, friends and even one of her child’s former teachers quickly signed up to attend the party and help out at the food bank.
On October 18, 2025, the group, which Fulmer estimated to number around 35 people, enjoyed cake and ice cream together after labeling canned peaches and packing snack bags for the food bank.
“It warmed my heart to see so many friends and family together,” Fulmer said.
Merrilee Baptiste, executive director of the Midwest Food Bank’s Arizona division, said sports teams and church groups volunteer at the food bank throughout the week, and the food bank even hosts about five birthday parties a year.
Fulmer said she has since heard that the food bank has received calls from friends wondering how they could plan similar events of their own.
“When I look back on this experience, it makes me smile,” she said. “What a crazy thing you’d do.”
choose a service over yourself
Lisa Zuniga of the Killeen Texas Stake also thought a service event would make her birthday even more meaningful.
Zuniga grew up singing Christmas carols with her parents and sister, and continued the tradition after starting her own family. She and her daughter often talked about how great it would be to bring music to people who don’t have family nearby, especially seniors in nursing homes who feel forgotten during the holidays.
When Zuniga’s husband asked her how she wanted to celebrate her birthday in December, she remembered an invitation from her church’s “Light the World” campaign. “Let’s add some light to our Christmas traditions.”
“Those words stuck with me, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” she said. Instead of giving gifts or cards, she asked families to participate in service projects.
On the afternoon of Dec. 13, 2025, on Zuniga’s birthday, her family joined missionaries and friends at the Harker Heights Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Harker Heights, Texas, to carol and hand out handmade cards for residents.
Zuniga brought a ukulele so the group could go door-to-door singing each resident’s favorite Christmas song at their request.
“There were smiles, tears, laughter and moments of pure connection that reminded us why the message of Christmas is truly ‘tidings of great joy,'” Zuniga said.
She said it was one of her favorite birthdays ever.
“My testimony has been strengthened that when we choose to serve rather than focus on ourselves, even on days that should have been focused on ourselves, the Lord multiplies the joy for both us and those we serve.”
