Like most eight-year-olds, Maya Ahira and her friend Vanessa Singh love animals. Unlike most kids their age, the girls turned their love of all things furry into cold hard cash for the SPCA.
The Grade 3 students at Suncrest Elementary collected close to $300 for the Burnaby branch of the B.C. SPCA, by holding a class bake sale.
“Since most of the animals at (the SPCA) are strays up for adoption, I thought maybe it would be nice because they need the money. … When I went there, most of them looked like they do need some help,” said Maya, whose own boxer Lex once went missing but was eventually turned in to the shelter.
Vanessa said she was happy to help her friend raise money for animals. “We thought that we should do a fundraiser for something, and … (animals) are really cute,” she said.
With their parents’ encouragement the girls took their plan to their classroom teacher, Ms. Pankratz, who got the rest of the class involved.
The students all brought baked goods for the one-day sale – Vanessa brought chocolate chip and gingerbread cookies, which were hot sellers.
The exact amount raised, including donations from both girls’ piggy banks, was $279, money that meant a lot to the staff at the Burnaby SPCA.
“We were tickled pink,” said the shelter’s spokesperson, Debbie Austin.
“It is nice to see young kids in the community.”
When the girls dropped off the money they had their picture taken holding a giant cheque representing the amount they donated. Then, they got to hold one of the shelter kittens.
“They just climbed the walls on that,” said Austin.
Maya already has her sights set on her next philanthropic goal.
She plans to raise money for B.C. Children’s Hospital, where her younger brother spent some time over Christmas holidays, when he came down with a severe infection that shut down his lungs for a time.
Her brother is fine now, but she knows other kids are still at the hospital.
“Kids there are sick and I thought sometimes they need a lot of money to have special things done and for research, so I thought that would be a good reason to give money,” Maya said.
After donating to the hospital there will be another fundraising goal, but she isn’t sure yet what the charity will be.
“I decided maybe every year or two I want to have a charity and raise money in different ways.”
