Second Grader Raises Money for Local Animal Shelter

At a mere seven-year-old, Babylon resident Jake Rogers, has proved that the littlest people can sometimes do the biggest things.

After five months of raising money out of his own sheer will to do so, the second grader recently raised $100 and donated it to the Town of Babylon Animal Shelter.

"He came up with this idea on his own," said mother, Chrissy Rogers. "He set the goals also. He blew us away at dinner one night when he explained what he wanted to do. The first question we asked was, "Where did you here that?" He said on TV. People don't really help enough."

Jake, who has been raised alongside his family's own rescue dog Otis, said seeing animals in need is what made him want to raise money for the shelter.

"We saw some animals on TV that didn't have a home so I wanted to raise money to help them find a home," he said.

The Parliament Place Elementary School student, who has already decided he wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up, used his free time to make homemade magnets to sell in order to get donations. 

"I sold them to people that I know such as friends and my dad brought them to work to sell. Also, my grandma and grandpa bought some too," he said. "I sold them mostly for $1 and some people gave me extra for donation."

Chrissy said the response to Jake's dedication to the shelter animals was overwhelmingly positive.

"People at my husband's work heard him telling a client about Jake's idea and suddenly people started walking up and giving him money for the cause," she said. "The shelter volunteers gave us a really heartfelt tour. They introduced almost every animal in there and explained how they were rescued and how they are doing now. The donation was very much appreciated."

Rogers, who recently ran a lemonade stand with his five-year-old sister Jenny, said he already has plans to donate the profits to the shelter and hopes that his good deeds will give others the encouragement to do the same. 

"I want lots of people to know what I did and then they'll know about it and help too," he said.