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Burnaby teen lends a hand to animal charities

A Burnaby Mountain Secondary student has taken it upon himself to grant wishes of local charities that work with animals. Last fall, 16-year-old Griffin Andersen launched Wishful Thinking.
Griffin Andersen, Wildlife Rescue
From left to right, Martha Bell, Griffin Andersen and Carla Miller with the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. Andersen dropped off more than $200 worth of building supplies donated by Home Depot, some gift certificates and a $200 cheque. It was all part of Wishful Thinking, a fundraising initiative Andersen launched last fall to help local charities.

A Burnaby Mountain Secondary student has taken it upon himself to grant wishes of local charities that work with animals.

Last fall, 16-year-old Griffin Andersen launched Wishful Thinking. The initiative was inspired by his own family’s volunteerism over the years as well as his own. When he was in elementary school, he took part in a salmon enhancement program, and in middle school, he worked as an ambassador with a Canadian non-profit that gets kids interested in nature.

The idea is to partner with organizations that protect the health and welfare of animals, and fundraise for them.

“I’ve always been passionate about the environment and animals,” Andersen said.

Wishful Thinking’s first wishlist came from a salmon hatchery in Port Moody (Andersen lives in Belcarra). Through word of mouth and a new website, Andersen collected a few hundred dollars’ worth of tools and some gift cards.

“It went very well,” he told the NOW.

It wasn’t too long after he found himself working on a second campaign with the Coquitlam Animal Shelter.

“The success of it came quite quickly,” he said, adding he contacted several pet stores and businesses in the Tri-Cities and had 10 of them agree to put out a donation bin. “I collected quite a bit of dog food and supplies – 400 pounds of animal food.”

More recently, he’s partnered with the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. in Burnaby. (The first time the Andersen family used its services was for a squirrel they rescued at the roadside on a busy street in Vancouver.)

The association’s wishlist includes a host of items: bleach, duct tape, tarps, whiteboard markers and more. Andersen has brought in more than $500 in monetary donations, thanks to a Save-On-Foods fundraiser held last November, as well as lots of supplies, according to Sam Smith, Wildlife Rescue’s marketing and communications coordinator.

“The Andersen family are just wonderful, wonderful people. Their support means so much to us,” he said, noting the family even donated a GoPro.

“To have a young man of 16 use his skills to set up a website on behalf of animal charities like us, to not help not just provide a new donation, but to increase our awareness and spread the word about what we do to more and more people is just above and beyond. It’s really amazing what he’s done.”

Asked where he sees Wishful Thinking one year from now, Andersen isn’t sure. He may continue collecting for the three charities, or he may expand, he said. He encourages folks to check out his website at wishfulthinking.community.

“Any donation is appreciated. They could use the help.”