8-Year-Olds Hold Toy Sale To Benefit St. Ann’s Resident Fund
Generosity knows no age limits.
Ava and Lauren (both 8 years old), with the help of friends and family, organized a toy sale over the summer to benefit Annie’s Angel Fund at St. Ann’s Community. In the spirit of true generosity, the toys came from their own toy boxes.
And that generosity inspired others, namely Art Quinn, Lauren’s grandfather. Art, who is also a volunteer at St. Ann’s, promised to match each dollar they raised. In the end, they donated $280 to Annie’s Angel Fund, which supports quality-of-life activities for St. Ann’s residents with limited financial means. Donations to the fund make possible things like lunch outings, tickets to a ballgame, new clothes, or a trip to the hair salon.
As a gesture of thanks for their kindness, Ava and Lauren were presented with thank-you cards hand-painted by a 97-year-old resident of St. Ann’s.
We asked the girls to tell us a little more about the project…
St. Ann’s: How long ago did you start planning the toy sale?
Ava & Lauren: We started planning at the end of 1st grade! Now we’re in 3rd grade. We spent some time gathering toys and making signs. We thought about selling ice cream, but we didn’t want to drag around a cooler full of ice cream. Then we decided that a good idea would be to sell toys.
How did you decide what toys you wanted to sell?
Lauren: I just dug though my bins – I went through each one and went nope, nope, yes! We also picked from some of our older toys that we don’t use anymore. There were some that came from grandma’s basement, too.
What made you think about St. Ann’s instead of donating somewhere else?
Lauren: I know people at St. Ann’s, I’ve helped at bingo before! I thought it would be nice to give the money to them. Some charities are much farther away, so we could come in and visit St. Ann’s and see what our money is being used for.
How many toys do you think you sold?
Ava & Lauren: Between toys, books and puzzles we probably sold over 100!
What did you do with all the extra space in your room now?
Lauren’s Parents: There’s actually room to walk around now!