Boy launches venture to aid homeless kids
Published: September 5, 2006
Raising money for charity usually involves asking other people for donations of money or items for a raffle or auction.
Taylor Berey, on the other hand, is taking matters into his own hands, literally.
The seventh-grader at Altadeña Middle School in Phoenix has been baking and selling organic dog treats to raise money to send homeless children to the zoo. He also pet-sits.
Taylor needed to complete a charity project for his bar mitzvah next March. Other kids may volunteer at a shelter or collect shoes for underprivileged children, said his mother, Lori Berey, but Taylor is more ambitious.
“I love animals, and I wanted to do something to help kids, so I thought I’d take them to the zoo,” he said.
He learned it would cost $3,900 for admission for Thomas J. Pappas School students to the Wildlife World Zoo and lunch, but that was last spring, when the three schools in Phoenix and Tempe enrolled about 600 children. Now, the number is about 800, so he will need about $5,200 if all the students go.
So far, Taylor has raised $5,800 selling 1-pound bags of treats for $7 each, and the orders are still pouring in. Because he exceeded the amount he needs, he’ll use the extra to give the kids a treat, such as a carousel ride or a gift bag.
Taylor found recipes on the Internet. The family dog, Buster, was the taste-tester. The treats are made with wheat flour, honey and eggs. He bakes almost every day after school and on weekends.
“His sacrifice is the thing that makes life for these children so much better,” said P. David Bridger, executive director of the Pappas schools.
While the schools can meet the students’ educational and physical needs, Bridger said, “it’s up to the community to help us with some of the little icings on the cake.”
Few of the children have ever been to a zoo, Taylor said.
Like any good businessman, he has partnered with others to push his idea. Smelly Dog dog wash and Pretty Paws groomer, both in Phoenix, sell his treats.
And Taylor has spoken to two groups of Keller-Williams Realtors and sold treats and collected donations from them.
Bruce Berey said his son had a “tough act to follow.” Taylor’s brother, Benjamin, 15, raised more than $3,000 for equipment and clothing for the Special Olympics for his bar mitzvah, so the challenge was on.
Taylor said he is thinking of keeping the operation going as a for-profit so he can save money for college, meaning he could be a company president before he reaches high school. But, he added, he’ll continue to donate a portion of sales, perhaps 20 percent, to organizations such as the Pappas schools and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: