How old do you have to be to make a difference in the world? According to Olivia Dunbabin, an English Early Learning student at St. Anne School in Hanmer, “you don’t have to be that old.” She and her three, four, and five year old classmates think they are just the right age to stand up and be noticed. They plan on making a big difference to the animal world and as such, they don’t want people to call them the Kindergarten class anymore. They now want to be recognized as the “ABC’S”, All Because of Caring Students!

These young students within the Sudbury Catholic School Board are on a mission. They want to raise money to help out Sudbury’s animal population. Their teacher and animal lover, Cheryl MacRury, had seen a commercial presented by the Wild At Heart Animal Refuge asking for help in taking care of Sudbury’s wildlife population. Since her class had been discussing the changes fall would bring to animals in the wild, the Sudbury Catholic Board’s virtue of respect for all things God had created, and recognizing that her class was filled with other animal lovers, there was only one thing to do. Invite staff from the wildlife center into the Hanmer school to talk to her students! To say thank you for the presentation, the young students presented the center with such necessary items as apples, carrots, and jars of baby food.

The experience in giving to the wild creatures who needed help was such an exciting and meaningful one that during a large group discussion, the young students decided they wanted to keep right on giving. When the talked turned to trying to get money for more supplies, and after first asking their teacher to ask her daddy for money, student Ethan Kydd suggested “asking people for pennies”. After designing their own logo, the English “ABC’S” turned to Mrs. Belanger’s Grade 7 class for help. The intermediate group was able to transfer the outlines of the design onto the computer along with a basic message, “Donate 1 cent to help feed and care for Sudbury’s Animal Population”.

Thanks to the caring staffs at Hanson Family Dentistry and Paula’s Canine Country Club, the “ABC’S” are on a mission. They have placed donation cans, their logos, and brief explanation placards at both businesses in the hope of having the general public donate one penny. Each time the cans are returned to school, the students will continue their work with Mrs. Belanger’s Intermediate class to count the donations. From here, the young English crusaders will decide what they can purchase and how to spread their help. The “ABC’S” plan to keep giving to The Wild At Heart Refuge Center, but who knows? If their campaign is a successful one, they would like to even be able to donate to the local S.P.C.A. When asked if they are too little to make a difference in the world, these little people have only one thing to say. “We believe we can do it!” The staff and students at St. Anne School believe in you too. Way to go Angels!