Kids & Family

Bay Student Gives Her Birthday Presents Away To Charity

Lena Marin asks only for pet items for her 10th birthday to be donated to the Brookhaven Animal Shelter.

Video games, toys and even iPads are often gifts that a 10-year-old would be thrilled to receive for themselves on their birthday, but a fifth-grader at Bay Elementary only wanted to be given pet items to donate to an animal shelter.

Lena Marin, who just turned 10 on Oct. 27, held a slumber party with 12 of her friends who were all asked to bring pet toys, pet food and other items that were given to the Brookhaven Animal Shelter the next day.

“She decided to do this months ago and never wavered,” Janine Marin, Lena’s mom, said in an email to Patch. “Really proud of her and the 5th grade girls she is friends with; they all got behind her idea.”

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Janine Marin said that items collected include over 30 toys, 10 food items, blankets, collars and wee wee pads.

If you were to give away your birthday presents, what charity would you want to support? Talk about it in the comments below.

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