BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — When a brother and sister from Buffalo heard that the Buffalo Zoo needed help financially, they came up with a grassroots way to lend a hand.
9-year-old Ryan and 8-year-old Ava decided to sell Buffalo ornaments, and donate all the proceeds to the zoo. The family bakes and hand paints each and every ornament.
In just the past week, their efforts have gotten so big that they can't make enough ornaments to fill the requests! Now they're asking the Bills Mafia to help them raise money by just donating $5 to the Buffalo Zoo.
"We got this letter from the zoo that said they needed money, so we decided to do this fundraiser," explained Ryan. "We really love animals - we have three in this house - and we don't want it to go away!"
The two worked with their mom, Heather, to share information about their fundraiser on Facebook. Before they knew it, they had more orders than they could fill.
"Every single penny is going to the zoo," said Heather. "We're getting calls from all over the country, and I've had to turn people down, because we don't have enough!"
Heather says she couldn't believe how quickly the fundraiser grew, and that it says so much about the Buffalo community.
The family has had to put new ornament sales on hold - but they're recruiting kids from the neighborhood to help fill as many past requests as they can. Some ornaments will also be available at Little Buffalo on Hertel on Thursday, December 17th. They will be collecting cash donations from 10 to 5.
They're hoping the Bills Mafia will now step up, and donate $5 each to help the zoo! If you want to donate you can give money directly to the zoo's Emergency Response Fund.
