Anna & Sydni raise more than $25,000 for Charity

When we first heard about Anna & Sydni’s goal to raise $25,000 for Animal Friends of Pittsburgh we were amazed by their drive to succeed and make a difference at such a young age (only 7!). Young girls like this remind us that we are all capable of accomplishing anything we put our minds to.

Anna and Sydni recently took some time to answer questions about their focus and goals and improving the lives of animals. We wanted to share them with you.

-How old were you when you first started raising money for Animal Friends of Pittsburgh? 

Sydni and I started to raise money for Animal Friends at age 7. Ever since then we couldn’t be stopped. 

-What made you decide to set a goal to raise a certain amount by graduation?

My mother came up with the idea of setting the goal of $25,000 by the time we graduated. And at first, I thought it was impossible, that it was too much, and it would never happen. After all, the first year we did simple lemonade stands and sold homemade bracelets. We were able to scrap up $200 dollars that first year, and if that continued we wouldn’t make it. But we had the drive and passion, and my mother believed we could. She knew we were capable of more, and this goal was the push we needed. We thought it over, and we decided that we would try. We were shooting at the moon, and if we missed, we would land amongst the stars. 

-What did you think initially? Were you nervous?

When we first started I was excited, and Sydni was too. We had a goal and we were determined to reach it. Sydni and I had such a passion. We have had our doubts in the beginning but we never let them slow us down. Over the years, we proved to ourselves that we can really make a difference.  

-What was the hardest thing you had to deal with when first setting this goal?

When we first set our goal, the hardest part of our fundraising was getting people to believe in us. We needed them to believe that we would follow through with our vision. A lot of people were reluctant to give a donation to two 7 year olds who say it’s going to charity. Looking back I don’t blame them. They didn’t know us, and they didn’t know what we were capable of. As our fundraising continued, people saw that we were serious and that we were determined to make a difference.

-What did you find most surprising?
Sydni and I are 14 years old and are in the 8^th grade. After our most recent fundraiser we hit our goal of 25,000 dollars total. This surprised the both of us. We originally anticipated that we would reach our mark as seniors, and we were both shocked and ecstatic when we reached our goal this early.

During our fundraising, we were mostly shocked at how generous people were. We had friends who would never miss an event, people who made regular donations, and people who truly believed in us. One kind donor has made countless donations, and has doubled the amounts raised at multiple fundraisers. Thanks to all our supporters we made it to $25,000, and we cannot thank them enough.