Mia O’Neal and Avery McDaniel got so many gifts at their birthday party this year, they covered an eight-foot table and then some.
“We got dog food and cat food and pet balls and bones,” Mia said, joyfully. “We got some other stuff, too.”
Not your typical birthday gifts for two 7-year-old girls. But it was exactly what they wanted.
Instead of having their friends bring presents, the girls, whose birthdays are a week apart, had a a special request. They asked for donations for their furry friends at the Leflore County Humane Society.
“One of my friends said she was going to bring me a present. I was like, ‘No, do not bring me something,’” Mia said.
The 7-year-old described her playroom as “exploding with toys” already — something her mother had noticed as well.
“My mom said, ‘Why don’t you give presents from your birthday to the animals this year?’” Mia said.
The then 6-year-old happily agreed.
“I had read an article in the paper saying how much the shelter needed food,” Corrie O’Neal said. “We wanted to help.”
O’Neal began thinking about how her family normally donates to the shelter through her daughter’s school, Pillow Academy.
“I realized that with school out for summer, the shelter was probably getting less than normal,” O’Neal said.
She called Terri McDaniel, Avery’s mom, with the idea.
“I thought it sounded great,” McDaniel said.
The girls had a swimming party at Twin Rivers, where classmates came to cool off in the water, have fun with friends and do something good for the community.
“It was just like they were presents,” McDaniel said. “Some people put bows and attached cards to the donations.”
At their party, the girls handed out dog-bone-shaped cookies to their friends as favors.
The week following the party, Mia and Avery went to the animal shelter to deliver their bounty.
“The lady at the animal shelter had tears in her eyes when we brought the food,” Mia said.
Debbie Clark, director of the Leflore County Humane Society, was amazed by the selfless gesture.
“We just think it was absolutely wonderful for these two young girls to think of our animals in such a way,” Clark said.
While they were there, the girls got a tour of the shelter and a chance to play with some of the animals as a gesture of thanks.
“We donated bones and got to give them to the dogs,” Avery said. “I like going to the animal shelter.”
The girls gave the shelter animals food and toys, but one of them also gave some animals a new home.
“I got two kittens,” Avery said.
The girls hope that their party will spark a trend for giving back among their friends and others within Greenwood.
