the prince of aha

Could an aha moment have the power to change entire generations? Wendy's appears to be on its way. For this, she has her nine-year-old son, Reed, to thank.

Wendy's aha moment took place on the way to a local bowling alley, where they were heading to set up for Reed's sixth birthday party. The night before, the family had watched a TV show about stray animals. From the back seat, Reed asked his mother a question that brought a tear to Wendy's eye.

"He asked, ‘Mommy, is it okay if I ask my friends to bring donations for the homeless animals instead of getting birthday gifts?" Wendy explained. "It was such a heartfelt, generous thing. Thankfully, I was in the front seat and he couldn't see me tearing up."

Reed hasn't asked for a single birthday gift since then-just donations to animal-related causes. Every year, more and more people participate: friends, neighbors, relatives, classmates. His ninth birthday was the biggest yet, with the Andarys renting out Reed's school's gym for a big sleepover party. Kids brought tents and sleeping bags, parents supervised, and friends and family dropped off donations. Everyone took home t-shirts and ASPCA-provided freebies. A few days later, at the San Francisco SPCA's 140th anniversary, Reed and his parents came by to drop off $1000 in donations for the rescued dogs and cats.

Altogether, his birthday parties have raised upwards of $3500 for the SFSPCA. Two years ago, Reed was honored by the community by being elected the prince of his town's annual Night of Lights Parade. And all the while, Wendy and her husband John have organized, supported, and watched as their son has shown their town a new way to contribute.

Teaching giving, by giving

Perhaps the most good that Reed and his folks do is raise awareness, not just about homeless animals, but about how everyone-even children-can pitch in and help.

The current head of Reed's school, Bruce Pollock, has seen the effects. He and his family had only just moved to town when Reed was celebrating his eighth birthday. Mr. Pollock's daughter, who was in Reed's class at school, had been invited. "I thought, now here's a kid turning eight, asking people to donate to the ASPCA. I'd never heard of such a thing! What great character he has. And my daughter was so impressed and excited-she kept asking, ‘How much can we donate?'"

Dan Ambrosi, the neighbor who nominated Reed for Night of Lights, has noticed a change in the local kids as well, including his own son, Dino. Dino, also nine, takes an active role in helping his family choose which charities to contribute, and how much. "Reed has definitely had a lasting affect on Dino," Dan says. "Sharing, giving, altruistic gestures-they're natural to him now."

"Reed is an example of what happens when passion turns into action." Explained SFSPCA president Jan McHugh Smith. "Simply by expressing that passion for animals, wanting to help them, he's taken a leadership role. He's an incredible inspiration."

Saving some lives, changing others

Reed's special brand of philanthropy has spread beyond just his peers. The number of applications from his community to attend the SFSPCA's summer camp has increased exponentially. And a little over a year ago, a girl in Reed and Dino's grade founded Half Moon Bay Kids Care, a charity that has raised hundreds of dollars to deliver mosquito nets to third world countries.

Children in Reed's community are adopting pets, instead of buying them from pet stores or puppy farms. They're starting their own charities. And they're learning, by example, that kids can make a difference. As Ms. McHugh Smith points out, "When a child learns to give, they'll become philanthropists for the rest of their lives."

"The first time Reed did his special birthday," Wendy recalls, "He asked, ‘do you think this is really going to help? I'm just a little kid.' I said, ‘You have no idea what this is going to do to other people.'"

"As a kid, you can do more than an adult. You can be inspirational."