Boy raises money for Humane Society

For many children, the last thing on their mind is volunteering or raising money for a local charity. For Jacob Pickielnok, however, giving donations to and volunteering at the Springfield Humane Society is a large part of his life.
http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/jacob-pickielnok-raises-money-springfield-humane-society

Jacob Pickielnok Raises Money for Springfield Humane Society Submitted by VT Journal on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 4:02pm By LAUREN DRASLER The Shopper SPRINGFIELD, VT -For many children, the last thing on their mind is volunteering or raising money for a local charity. For Jacob Pickielnok, however, giving donations to and volunteering at the Springfield Humane Society is a large part of his life. “I started giving donations to the humane society a few years ago,” he said. “I collected pennies and my grandfather has gold dollars that we donated. I think the first donation I gave them [the humane society] was $44.” Pickielnok said that he decided to volunteer and raise money for the humane society because of his lifelong love for cats and dogs. Pickielnok’s grandmother, Marion is one of the reasons her grandson began volunteering. “My husband and I wanted Jacob to know that part of life, or doing good is to do things for the community and to help others,” she said. “It’s important to understand that every little thing you do to help others goes a long way.” Perhaps what guided Pickielnok’s efforts the most was when someone won the American Legion 50/50 Drawing last year and donated all the money to Jacob. Pickielnok then donated the $105 from this donation to the humane society. This year, Pickielnok set up a display at the American Legion Post 84 golf tournament at Crown Point Country Club on September 21. The display featured a poster with some adoptable animals from the humane society on it and a basket for donations. “I raised $115 at the tournament,” Pickielnok said. “All of it went to the humane society.” The Springfield Humane Society was so appreciative of Jacob’s efforts that they posted on Facebook about his donation. According to the post from September 27 on their page, “We had a visit today from our 12 year old friend Jacob! This kind boy donates to the shelter regularly, bringing us treats for the cats and dogs and also money that he raises. Today, he stopped in to present us with a check from money he raised at a golf tournament. He made the lovely sign pictured, telling the public what he was raising money for. He also displayed some of our adoptable animals! Thank you Jacob, we all appreciate your kindness and so do all of the animals that you are helping!” The post included a picture of Jacob with the sign he made for the golf tournament. Pickielnok said that he hopes to raise money at the golf tournament every year for the humane society. Pickielnok’s grandfather is affiliated with General Electric, and as a result of that, it was recently discovered that GE would match all of the donations Jacob gives to the humane society. Another way that Pickielnok raises money for the humane society is by making small quilts with his grandmother for people to buy at the shelter. “My grandmother and I made little blankets for animals,” he said. “We made about 20 for cats and around five for dogs and called them ‘Kitty Blankets by Jacob’. All of the blankets were sold in the first day, and all of the money went toward the new kennels for dogs.” Pickielnok said that he hopes to continue making blankets. Along with raising money and making blankets, Pickielnok also volunteers at the humane society. “My favorite thing about volunteering is that I get to spend time with the cats and dogs,” he said. “I want to either work with or volunteer for animals in the future.” Donations can be made to Springfield Humane Society (401 Skitchewaug Trail, Springfield, Vermont 05156) in reference to Jacob Pickielnok.