You’re never too young to care about animals
That’s certainly the case for 14-year-old Alina, who recently raised $1,000 for Oregon Humane Society, becoming our youngest Thomas Lamb Eliot Circle (TLC) donor.
Although her philanthropy endeavors did not begin until late last year, her advocacy for the animals of OHS began in the first grade, when she chose to highlight OHS in an independent project on animal rescue. Unlike other kids her age who were afraid of bugs, Alina spent her summer afternoons rescuing them from trouble in her backyard. She told us she has always loved all creatures—big and small.
This year, however, Alina decided to take her advocacy efforts to the next level when she decided to make OHS the focus of her year-long eighth grade project. Earlier this year, Alina decided to host a donation drive in her community, where she collected items such as food, treats, toys and leashes for the animals in our care. But Alina did not stop there!
Although Alina had always had a knack for painting and drawing, she recently realized she had never tried to paint using watercolor. One night, Alina decided she would give watercolor painting a shot—and find a way to make her endeavors benefit animals in her community.
Over the next few weeks, Alina would paint ten of her favorite animals, scan the paintings onto her computer, and print hundreds of greeting cards featuring her paintings to be sold to friends and family for the benefit of OHS. In the end, Alina sold over 300 cards, generating $1,000 for the animals at Oregon Humane Society and for that, we could not be more grateful.
When we asked Alina if she had a message for her fellow TLC donors, she told us, “I’d like to tell them thank you, and that I’m really glad you are [giving to OHS!]”
Well Alina, from all of us in the Thomas Lamb Eliot Circle, we’d like to thank you too! We could not be happier to have you on our team!
