January 18, 2021 SPOTLIGHT ON…WILLOW PHELPS!!! When Willow Phelps was in fourth grade, she was named Kid of the Year by the ASPCA (the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). She had been caring for animals for years—not just the assortment of pets she had at home, but all kinds of animals all over the world! She had done 5K runs, mile-long swims, and sewn and sold catnip toys to raise over $15,000 for different causes. Some of the causes she raised money for include homeless pet owners, chimps in Liberia, orcas in aquariums, and senior shelter pets. One of Willow’s special projects happened close to home. At her school carnival every year, there was a booth where students threw ping pong balls at goldfish in glass bowls. If they hit a bowl, they got to take home a goldfish in a bag. This didn’t seem right to Willow! “Goldfish can hear really well,” she explained, “so when they hear those ping pong balls pinging against their bowls, it probably hurts them and scares them. And then when they got home, a lot of them might not have the right care.” Willow not only got her school to stop the goldfish booth, but she also raised the money to make up for what the school used to earn at the booth. Now Willow’s in seventh grade and she’s still throwing herself into helping animals and the environment. Over the last couple years, climate change has hit close to home for Willow, who is a competitive swimmer. Her swim team had to cancel their season because the lake they swim in became infested with blue algae bloom, which is unsafe to swim in. And then the surf camp she attends every summer, Girls Wave Riding Surf School was cancelled because of a hurricane. Both hurricanes and blue algae bloom are made worse by climate change. But Willow’s not just going to sit around and watch while climate change threatens the activities she loves, and even more importantly, the habitat of the animals she adores. She has marched for climate change awareness in New York City, and is part of a lawsuit against the federal government over climate change. How cool is that?! Go Willow! I know Willow is just getting started and I can’t wait to see what she does next! What’s something that you’re really passionate about? What are some things you can do to start spreading awareness about that topic? Enlighten us in the comments section below!
Starry Night says January 20, 2021 at 2:00 am That is super awesome !! Next generation should follow her lead !! ☺️
Diamonds says January 19, 2021 at 6:57 pm Reality is cruel these days. But remember there’s always going to be a bright side no matter what. Where there’s hate, there’s love. Willow is just one of these 1000000000000 (or something) people that have been a great helper to the society and mother nature no matter what or who was around them screaming discouragement right in their ear. Come on, you all of us have to be one of them!
Dorky Beatles Fanatic says January 19, 2021 at 6:47 pm I’m passionate about The Beatles, CWC (both of which are just dorky cool things I like), LBGTQ+, and ableism awareness. For LGBTQ+ and ableism awareness, I think the first step will be to encourage families of my friends with autism not to support Autism Speaks. I am autistic, too, and for families who know what Project Zorgo is and think it’s a bad thing, I’ll try saying it’s like Zorgo. If not, I’ll show them some articles on wikihow regarding the topic.
Sour patch says January 19, 2021 at 6:24 pm Wow that’s inspiring I’m a huge animal lover too she is right that goldfish thing is wrong I’m glad it was stopped Sour patch Stay safe and mask up y’all
book chick says January 19, 2021 at 5:36 pm Amazing, I wish everyone treated animals the way she dose!
ADOPT NOT SHOP says January 19, 2021 at 5:16 pm I LOVE animals just like Willow! As soon as I’m old enough, my mom told me I could coulenteer at the local animal shelter. And when I’m even older, I might work at one, and even LATER in life, I think I’ll own an animal shelter. ADOPT NOT SHOP! I fully believe in Adopt not Shop. And I encourage others to adopt pets and not buy them from large animal stores such as petco because they usually get their animals from pet mills. Which are large institutions that breed animals in very tight and cramped up spaces, and these conditions are really hard on animals, leading to underlying problems that you don’t know about, which usually shortens their life span.
B the Bee says January 20, 2021 at 8:40 am how sad. I think you should open adopt not shop as soon as you can!
Anonymous says January 29, 2021 at 10:57 am OMG! THIS IS AWSOME! You should do this as a fundraiser!!! Like for animals in need! Do a ADOPT NOT SHOP pet training! Then have a show so those little animals can WORK IT!
Lol time says January 19, 2021 at 4:01 pm I just love Willow! She is really brave. What I want to do is help the Earth, but it can not only help our environment, but it can save animals by stop cutting down trees.
little growing dork says January 19, 2021 at 2:00 pm wow willow, I would have never thought of this before! But I am so grateful that you wanna keep the animals safe! keep up the good work!