Kids donate to Humane Society for their birthdays

HEATH - Sisters Nevaeh Tankersley and Aliyah Wallace had a combined birthday party Saturday. And while guests brought many gifts to the party, they weren't for the two young girls.

Instead of having family and friends bring toys for Nevaeh and Aliyah, they brought canned pet food, cat litter, toys, paper towels, bleach and many more items for the animals at the Licking County Humane Society.

Because both girls love animals so much, their mother, Ashley Houck, suggested they collect donations for the Humane Society. Nevaeh, 7, and Aliyah, who turns 2 on Friday, were happy to do it. They dropped off their donation Monday afternoon.

"I love animals, and even if they don't have homes, I still want to give them food and make them happy," Nevaeh said.

Houck, who lives in Heath, said she was so proud of Nevaeh and Aliyah for deciding to forgo birthday presents.

"As (Nevaeh) put it, she said: 'Instead of being spoiled, why not donate?' " Houck said.

Nevaeh and Aliyah's party was animal themed, complete with cat and dog decorations. Houck said she hopes it inspires other parents and children to collect items for the Humane Society or other organizations for kids' birthdays.

The items were all from the Humane Society's wish list. Shelter staff members said the girls collected about a week's worth of supplies.

Nevaeh said she wasn't expecting them to get as many items as they did. The 7-year-old, who said she loves cats and dogs both equally, wants to collect items for the Humane Society each year for her birthday.

Lori Carlson, executive director of the Humane Society, said the organization gets donations every day, "but the kids doing it for their birthday parties is really special."

She said about once or twice a month, the shelter gets donations that were collected in lieu of birthday gifts. Carlson said it always amazes her that children choose to do that.

"I don't know that as a 7-year-old I could have given up my birthday presents," she said. "That's a really hard thing for a child to give up is their birthday presents. That's like the biggest sacrifice for them, I mean short of Santa not coming."

But the girls did leave the shelter Monday with a birthday present: an 8-week-old kitten named Skyler.

mdevito@gannett.com

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Twitter: @MariaDeVito13