Kids Making a Difference
Story by Jennifer Andrews
Main Photo: Lela's 5th Birthday Party
The Best Friends Teen Community would like to recognize the generosity and determination of animal lovers that are at or under the age of seven.
For her 5th birthday party, Lela asked her friends to bring a donation for the animals at Best Friends instead of a present. Her friends were so excited that some of them gathered up spare change from their personal piggy banks. The total amount collected from the group came to $190.
The Lemon siblings Allison (8), Lorelei (6) and Ryan (3) joined forces to raise $36.50 selling, you guessed it… fresh lemonade (made with lemons from Grandma's lemon tree) and homemade brownies. The siblings told their mom they wanted to do something to "help the animals at Best Friends!"
This summer Casey (7) and John (4) combined their talents to raise money for the animals at Best Friends. John took care of the neighbors recycling; Casey read eight chapter books and got sponsors to donate for each book read. In addition, they worked together and ran a lemonade stand to increase their collection to just over $37.
On July 27th a handsome young man named Sam celebrated his fourth birthday. He told his mom Melissa that instead of receiving a present on his birthday he wanted to buy a dog bed for a dog that did not have a home. Sam wanted to honor his beloved dog, Millie. Millie passed away two months prior to his birthday at the young age of five. Sam misses his best friend Millie and hopes that a special dog will receive the bed and enjoy sleeping in it as much as Millie enjoyed sleeping in her special bed.
Kourtney decided that for her 7th birthday she was going to ask her friends to bring present for the animals at Best Friends. She said that it was a lot of fun and that her friends brought some really neat things. Thank you Kourtney for thinking of others on your special day!
If you have donated to a local animal shelter or rescue and would like to share your story please e-mail your story to humane.ed@bestfriends.org. Be sure to ask your parents first!