Surprise! Mike Rowe throws a party for Beverly’s Birthdays and founder Megs Yunn

This story first appeared on NEXTPittsburgh, which publishes Kidsburgh.

By Melissa Rayworth

After giving birthday gifts and joy to more than 30,000 kids in southwestern Pennsylvania, Megs Yunn got a big gift of her own from the Facebook reality TV series “Returning the Favor.”

The founder of Beverly’s Birthdays had been told that a crew from the show was coming to film a documentary about her work.

But after the show’s host Mike Rowe (formerly the star of the popular TV series “Dirty Jobs”) arrived, Yunn soon found out what was actually happening: Rowe presented Beverly’s Birthdays with a check for $25,000, plus $10,000 worth of toys (and more on the way, they say) at a big thank you surprise party for helping so many kids in our region.

“The surprise from Mike Rowe and ‘Returning the Favor’ was truly amazing,” Yunn tells NEXTpittsburgh. “It is a team effort to be able to provide birthday joy to children and families in our region and I am beyond grateful for the recognition.”

How does she plan to use this donation?

“The funds will be used to support spreading birthday cheer to the 30,000 children we will support in 2019,” Yunn tells us. “Additionally, I hope the ‘Returning the Favor’ piece will inspire others to give back in their communities and Pittsburghers to get involved with our organization.”

Watch the episode here (and have tissues available for the tears — when Yunn cries, we’re betting you will, too).

If you’re interested in helping spread birthday cheer in Pittsburgh, volunteers are needed. You can learn more here. And as Yunn likes to say, “Let’s continue to dump glitter on the Black and Gold!”