9-year-old donates money from fundraiser to help local animal shelter

PELL CITY, Ala. (WBRC) - A little boy from Pell City decided to hold a fundraiser to donate to their local animal shelter.

According to the Pell City Animal Control Center, Riley Gersh raised about $500 in a bake sale and dropped by last week with much needed cleaning supplies.

“I think for someone this young to have the heart to donate, that is what made this case so special,” says Pell City Police Sgt. Jonathan Swinney.

The center says instead of buying something for himself, Gersh decided to help them by buying items from their Amazon wish list.

“We were contacted at the shelter by a young man about 8 or 9 years old who wanted to raise money and make a donation to the shelter,” says Gersh. “He called and wanted to know where we needed that money spent the most. We needed cleaning supplies. So he and his parents went out. They bought cleaning supplies and brought them in and donated them to us.”

Sgt. Swinney says a lot of people don’t know how much they use supplies like these every day

“You think about food for animals, but when you house as many animals as we have,” says Sgt. Swinney. “We will have maybe 200 animals at a time. There’s a lot of cleanup that needs to be done.”

Just like Gersh, there are ways you can help the shelter. From donations to volunteering your time, they say they are always in need of help.

The center will host an adoption event on April 15 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at 2631 Martin Street South.

To learn more information, you can call 205-814-1567.

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