Kids at shelter party hearty Volunteers do birthdays right Tasgola Karla Bruner - Staff Sunday, April 18, 2004     The name on the heart-shaped birthday cake had been scraped off and  "Maria" written in its place.  The tablecloth, hats and napkins donated by Party City didn't match, and the 4-year-old girl's only present was a doll sent to the homeless shelter where she lived   When the cake was carried out to Maria, her mother covered part of it  with her hand so the girl wouldn't  see someone had already eaten a  piece of it days earlier. "There was a piece missing on the heart cake, and that's when a piece  of my heart went out to that girl. I said to myself, 'These children  deserve better,' " said Tawana Tarno, the public relations coordinator  at the Calvary Refuge Center, a homeless shelter in Forest Park.    That was four years ago.    On Saturday, Laquonda Matthews, 13, got something better than a  leftover cake with a stranger's name. Hers was homemade, chocolate and  decorated in baby blue and yellow icing, thanks to volunteers who answered Tarno's call.    Laquonda took a deep breath and blew out the candles, then stood, touched her chest and caught her breath.    "What I liked is that they thought about me, because they didn't have  to come out here and throw a party. But they came, and showed they cared," she said.    Laquonda also liked the presents, she said, including a necklace, a  bracelet, a book, a puzzle and a stuffed bunny.    Three other children whose birthdays also fall in April shared the  party with her. They, too, got gifts,  and 15 other children who attended each received  a goodie bag.    "This is a blessing to them," said Gwen Farris, 48, who lives at the shelter and has a son with a birthday coming up next month. "[The  children] know they'll get a present, and I know for a fact they  normally wouldn't because it's difficult with the salaries their families make."    The volunteers seem to get as much out of the celebrations as the  kids.    Volunteers have been helping out with parties since February, and  donations and gifts have come in regularly from members of  Philadelphia Presbyterian Church in Forest Park.  The Calvary Refuge Center is an 18-year-old homeless shelter funded by  Clayton County as well as federal and state grants with matching community donations. Twelve of the 14 rooms available for two-year  transitional housing are being used by families, most of whom are employed. Others are getting job assistance. More than 50 beds are available for 21-day emergency shelter. More information can be found  at www.calvaryrefuge.org.    Jennifer Rohrbach, who helps organize the volunteers and the donations  for the parties and gifts that come from church members, said she felt  compelled to help.  "It was just something that spoke to me," she said. "I'm a mom and I know how I'd feel if I wasn't able to do parties for my kids." Her daughter, Rachel Rohrbach, 9, had her reason, too: "It gives me joy in my heart."