Teen uses her hobby to benefit stray animals
It is said that life is a gift that offers one the privilege, the opportunity and actually the responsibility to give something back by becoming more.
Thirteen-year-old Erin Coburn of Libertyville clearly took this maxim to heart when she found a way to make a significant contribution to some of the needy and abandoned animals of Lake County currently cared for by the Orphans of the Storm animal shelter in Riverwoods.
"I love animals and I have always felt horrible about the thousands that are euthanized every day and how some are treated, and I really wanted to help them," Coburn said.
But even at the tender age of 13, Coburn understood that the task might be a bit more than one person could handle -- or was it? As an artistic teen, Erin spent her free time creating handmade crafts such as greeting cards, bookmarks and other assorted stationery items. The idea, then, to turn this hobby into profit that would enable her to make charitable donations became a natural extension.
Having created a large collection of handmade bookmarks, Coburn turned to Kim White, owner/manager of the children's bookstore Crocodile Pie in Libertyville, for assistance. Turned out, White was glad to offer a collaborative hand and even made it possible for Coburn to sell her crafts in her store during the busiest time of the year, the Christmas rush.
"We are all part of a large community and if we can help each other out, it's great," said White, noting that she would "do it again in a heartbeat.
"Erin was such a hard worker and had created bookmarks that were just beautiful, but even more beautiful was her spirit. She appeared much older than her years in doing something so big for such a worthwhile cause," White said.
Coburn sold over 30 hand-made bookmarks for $3 apiece and also collected donations. Then on Jan. 11, she proudly presented Orphans' administrator Gail Donahue with a check for $200, along with a carload of pet supplies, more gift cards and hand-sewn blankets for the homeless animals.
"It's a huge deal for us," said Orphans' Development Director Jackie Borchew. "On any given day, we have over 500 animals available for adoption with an average daily cost of over $8 per animal for their care. So $200 will go a long way."
That is exactly what Coburn had hoped to achieve.
"It makes me feel incredibly great to be able to help these needy animals," Coburn said. "It just kills me knowing that there are hundreds of thousands of deserving pets who may never get to experience love from a family or have a place to call home. After just one look into an abandoned dog's eyes, I knew I had to do everything possible to help the shelter."
In the future, Coburn hopes to become an animal trainer and possibly even open a shelter herself. "I just love animals to death and I hope that I can help them throughout my life."
As for others her own age who might want to make a contribution, Coburn recommends finding something they really like to do as a way to raise money in order to donate to a favorite cause.
Borchew echoes this sentiment. "A lot of young children, those too young to volunteer, come up with their own ingenious ideas for how to help and we encourage them to do that and to spread the word. And hopefully for every kid doing this, they raise awareness of another about the value of life of every animal."