Three years shy of their 16th birthdays, two local teens got their parents to throw them the kind of trendy party that has become a hit among their friends at school.

It wasn't an MTV "My Super Sweet 16" party with over-the-top decorations and an outrageous budget. This party was all about sweet charity, with donations benefiting a local organization.

While planning a luau for their 13th birthdays, Elizabeth Fox and Elizabeth Perkins decided that in lieu of gifts, they would rather do some giving. So the girls, both rising eighth-graders at A.G. Cox Middle School, asked their guests to bring school supplies for the local Boys & Girls Club.

"We have all this stuff," Elizabeth Perkins said, "and it's better to help people than get things."

While charity parties remain a bit of a novelty, they are not entirely new. In recent years, several area children have used their birthday parties as occasions to raise funds for local organizations. A benefit birthday party that was the subject of an article in Ranger Rick magazine inspired 8-year-old Amos Stead to accept donations for the Pitt County Animal Shelter for his birthday last year.

But in recent months, birthday benefits have become a bit of a trend among area teens. Since January, two teens from A.G. Cox have hosted parties benefiting Give2TheTroops, and another group had a birthday benefit that asked for flip-flops that would be sent to Nicaragua.

"We decided that we wanted to do something like that," Elizabeth Fox said. "We thought of school supplies (since) our birthdays are near the end of summer."

Elizabeth Fox turned 13 on July 18, and Elizabeth Perkins' birthday was July 25. The girls hosted their celebration July 21, inviting about 20 friends over to play beach volleyball and do the limbo in the Foxes' back yard.

For their birthdays, the girls were given 80 notebooks, 30 packs of paper, 50 pens, pencils and markers, 25 boxes of crayons and nine pair of scissors, some glitter glue, highlighters, erasers and book covers. And it was just what they wanted.

"I really do think it's kind of a neat idea instead of having stuff for yourself," Elizabeth Fox said. "All you have to do is find some organization that's in need of something."

The girls had a little trouble convincing everyone of their intentions when the invitations first went out. Even though they clearly asked for donations of school supplies instead of gifts, at least one mom called to verify that the girls really didn't want presents.

"We did have a couple of parents who wanted to make sure," said Elizabeth Fox's father, Neal. "We had a couple of parents who wanted to clarify that."

For parents, Elizabeth Perkins' father, Troy, said, one benefit of the party was that it simplified the gift-giving process.

"They get to this age and somebody invites you to a birthday party. What do you get?" he said. "People don't need anything."

For the girls, the benefit of the party was just getting together with friends.

"It was more fun seeing all our friends before school started and just getting together and hanging out," Elizabeth Perkins said.

Neal Fox believes the parties can help teach an early lesson in the importance of community service.

"This is such a great idea," he said. "I wish I could say I'd thought of it.

"I just think it teaches a valuable lesson. Wouldn't this be a neat trend if this would catch on?"

Troy Perkins said he certainly favors this trend to another trend in teen parties: showy, expensive birthday bashes made popular by MTV's "My Super Sweet 16" show.

"This is something that's the opposite of what's coming on MTV," he said. "You don't need extravagance to be happy."

Contact features writer Kim Grizzard at kgrizzard@coxnc.com