3 Girls Turn Lemonade into Supplies for Animals

Our parent organization HART received this story via email about 3 fantastic girls who worked together to raise money to help animals in need.

Dear HART Animal Relief,

One day my friends and I got together to make a lemonade stand. We weren’t so sure what to do with the money so we decided to give our first donation of $50 to the Sick Kids Hospital. We felt very proud of what we had done so the next week we decided to have another lemonade stand. The reason for this is because we have been noticing many lost pet signs, and we would feel very sad if our pets went missing so we decided to raise money to give to your animal shelter. We choose your animal shelter because my grandmother recently told us that you ran strictly on donations and we would not like it if our pets got lost and had to go to an animal shelter that could not afford the proper treatment. So we decided to help you to buy more supplies to help out those sick, injured or lost pets. We sold each glass of lemonade for 25 cents and ended up raising $60.

Sincerely,
Nicole, Jessica, Ricki

From Ruby's New Family

Ruby was adopted from us on January 20, 2011. Inspired by the Kids that Care Project, her adoptive family left a note and donation with her foster family when they came to pick Ruby up. Thanks so much for your kindness!

Here's what they had to say.......

Eugenie, Milo, and Esten with their Newf Koda on the morning before they left to get Ruby

Hi Sandra,

We went on your site and visited the section about those amazing unselfish children who did something to help those dogs in need. Then I told my kids about it and after seeing that you have lots of dogs coming in and funds running low, they wanted to help a little too.

Here is some cash to help with your bills. Eugenie, Esten and Milo gave some of their Christmas money to help out:

• Eugenie $50 (she is almost 13)
• Esten $50 (he is 11)
• Milo $ 20 (he is 7 and low on cash!)
• and I gave $100 from my last Tupperware sales.

We hope it will help a little.

We are thrilled to add Ruby to our family and will take good care of her.

Cheers and keep up the good work!

~ Ruby's family

The kids with Ruby and Koda, Jan 23, 2011

The Inspiration for this Project

When you think of getting a gift for a 7 year old boy what comes to mind? Action figures? Video games?

How about a donation to a dog rescue?

Not what you would typically pick, right? Well then you haven't met Paul. This young Newf lover recently had a party to celebrate his 7th birthday and guess what he asked for? That's right, donations to Newf Friends Newfoundland Dog Rescue. Instead of bringing a gift, Paul asked that all of his party guests make a donation to the Newf Friends division of HART to help support Newfs in need. Imagine that, a 7 year old boy caring enough about Newfs to give up getting birthday presents in exchange for helping Newfs in need.

Pretty terrific, right?

Speaking of terrific children, how about Kayleigh, a very special 9 year old girl who is a huge supporter of rescue and lover of animals. Last year when Ella arrived in our care Kayleigh was so moved by her story that she set out to raise funds to help pay for Ella's extensive medical bills. Through the sale of baked dog treats this inspiring young girl raised money to help Ella get better.

Recently Kayleigh heard that we had a special new arrival in our program, Ella's mom Mackenzie. Mackenzie too has some special health issues, including the need for surgery to correct cherry eye. Once again Kayleigh has stepped forward and made it her goal to raise funds to help with the medical expenses for this special Newf. She's working hard to sell more cookies, and being an aspiring photographer, she's going to be auctioning off a photo-shoot to raise funds for Mackenzie's surgery. What fun!

These two children, through their generosity and selfless acts of kindness, have truly made a difference in the lives of animals in need.

Thank you Paul and Kayleigh, from all of us at Newf Friends. You are both an inspiration.

We are so moved by these acts of kindness that we wanted to share their stories, and encourage other children to look to Paul and Kayleigh for inspiration and step up and make a difference in the life of an animal. In honour of Paul and Kayleigh, we're launching the Kids that Care Project. We hope other children will follow Paul and Kayleigh's example and help animals in their own communities, around the globe.

Just like Paul and Kayleigh, we'd like to see children come up with fun and creative ways to help animals. It doesn't have to be just Newf Rescue, we want to hear about how you have helped animals, any animal, no matter how big or how small.

So get together with your friends, your classmates, your siblings, and come up with a plan on how you can help save the life of an animal in need. Email us your stories about how you are doing your part to help animals, and we'll share your stories on our new blog, and spread the message that children can and do make a difference in the lives of animals.

From all of us at Newf Friends, thank you Paul and Kayleigh for setting such a wonderful example. Our hope is that others will learn from your kindness and be moved to do the same.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
~ AESOP ~

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