Public Birthday Party Doubles As Fundraiser For 10-Year-Old Boy

ODESSA, FL – In 2015, Eric Piburn compiled a bucket list of all the things he wanted to do in his life. One of the young Land O’ Lakes resident’s requests was to have a birthday party.

Luckily, Piburn will have a second chance to have his wish come true. The Piburn family will be hosting Eric’s 10th birthday party on Sunday, Feb. 26 from noon to 4 p.m. at Old McMicky’s Farm, located at 9612 Crescent Drive in Odessa.

Piburn was diagnosed a birth with a complex cardio-pulmonary defect called Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia. Because of the birth defect, which causes five different heart abnormalities, Piburn has had four heart surgeries and is in need of a heart and double lung transplant.

When the family posted their plans to have Eric’s bucket-list birthday party on Facebook, they tagged local resident Danielle Sullivan. The former employee of Old McMicky’s Farm contacted its owner, Ralph Zuckerman, to coordinate Eric’s ninth birthday party.

The idea quickly went from inviting a few people to turning the event into a fundraiser and selling tickets. When the guest list topped out at 800 people and $15,000 was raised, the Piburn family and Old McMickey’s Farm decided to make the event an annual party.

The outpouring of support from the community is not lost on the Piburn family.

“We feel like we are so lucky to have so much love and support from the community, because sometimes we feel like we are fighting an uphill battle alone,” said Dave Piburn, Eric’s father. “And when people reach out to us it really makes us feel so good about the number of wonderful people willing to help us.”

Eric also said he appreciates the community’s attendance at his birthday parties.

“I feel like I have tons of friends,” he said.

Tickets to this year’s event are $10 and admission is free for children younger than 2. All proceeds from ticket sales and a portion of all food purchased will be donated to the family. Tickets can be purchased at http://bit.ly/2mhvBxq.

This year’s event will feature:

• More than 100 costumed super heroes and characters
• Local food trucks
• Live music and entertainment from DJ Lady Shay
• Interactions with the Old McMicky’s Farm animals
• Jazzy Jewels
• Bounce houses and games
• Facepainting
• Dairy Queen and Mr. Curley Cone

Donations can also be made to the Piburn family via Eric’s Go Fund Me page at https://www.gofundme.com/a3lm3k.

Image and video via Eric Pibrun’s YouTube channel