Starting with a penny, 10-year-old Jenna Greene tripled her original goal, and last week, donated $1,525 to the Victoria B.C. SPCA.
“My neighbours, and people in Oak Bay, are really so generous and they gave so much. That’s how I did it. I feel happy I could do it here and I’m really thankful to people who donated,” said Greene.
Starting with a goal of $500 in March, she quickly surpassed that and reached her final tally at the end of July.
Breeanna McDonald, Regional Humane Education Coordinator, South Vancouver Island B.C. SPCA, gave Greene a tour of the facility where she was able to see all the animals and how they are cared for.
“Breeanna, she was super nice and she took me on a tour to see the small animals first, then we went to see the cats and there were a couple of puppies there who were going into foster care – they were so cute,” said Greene.
Part of Greene’s donation will go toward supporting a cat adoption room and a plaque with her name on it will be placed outside. The youngster asked that $525 of the funds go to the B.C. SPCA Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (Wild ARC) in Metchosin.
“It was a great idea she had to drop poop bags off at her neighbours and collect pennies,” said Victoria SPCA branch manager Penny Stone in an interview last week. “It’s awesome for us. … It’s a really large donation.”
Most large donations come through events organized by the SPCA directly, Stone explained. “It’s a surprise when children raise more than $100, so $1,525 is huge.”
“Jenna is ecstatic,” said her mom, Jane Rousseau. “We wanted to thank you for the initial story in the Oak Bay News as this helped Jenna to raise the pennies for pets that amounted to so much and is going to such an amazing cause.”
“It’s amazing for someone her age to learn about charity and to put that amount of effort into it,” said Stone. The donation will help care for some of the 169 animals currently housed at the Victoria SPCA.
“I think I’ll do the same thing next year. Maybe not a penny drive but I’m thinking of some new ideas,” said Greene. “I enjoy making other people happy. I’ve always liked to help.”
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