BILLINGS — It's never too early to start giving back. That's what three young ladies on the Billings West End are proving after finding their own way to support an important part of our growing community, nonprofit Family Service.
It started back in October when 7-year-old Avery Nelson saved up $15 to donate to Family Service.
"Then I felt like, well, maybe this feels good. I might want to do more. I can do better. I can do bigger. I can do more," said Avery.
That giving spirit was contagious and spread across the street to Avery's best friend, 7-year-old Lennox Carley.
“She came up to my door. She said, 'Oh Lennox, do you want to help me help people who don't have homes and are in need?'" Lennox said.
Lennox and her 9-year-old sister Ireland jumped at the chance to help and the trio formed "Girls 4 Community."
"It makes you feel a lot better when you do something good for the community instead of good for yourself," said Ireland.
Their first project began when they noticed a need for children's books at Family Service.
"They mostly just have grown-up books," Avery said. "So when little kids come with their parents, they can read some little books, too."
The three armed themselves with flyers, a wagon, and a script as they canvassed their neighborhood.
"We went to each house, like in our neighborhood and some houses over there. And we said, 'This is a book drive for Family Services for people in need.' And they gave us any old books that they had," said Lennox.
"You have to approach it in the right way, like saying, this is a food drive, this is everything that they need, you can't demand it and everything," Ireland said.
They were able to collect over 300 donated books.
"We almost donated 200 pounds of books," said Avery.
They decided to focus their next mission on Turkey Tuesday and have started a food drive.
"I'm thinking that for Turkey Tuesday, the families will be happy," Avery said. “I think our community is gonna grow with all the stuff we donate.”
"My favorite part of doing all this is helping people in need that don't really have homes," said Lennox.
Three young ladies proving that from humble beginnings come great things.
“Knowing that this is a small step means we can do a lot bigger things,” Ireland said.
I feel like my community is growing bigger and bigger and we can help each other. And we can do it just with little parts to big parts," added Nelson.
If you'd like to contribute to Turkey Tuesday, you can drop off food items at KTVQ at 3203 3rd Ave. N. or Masterlube in the Heights or the West End till 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Click here for more information about Turkey Tuesday and ways to donate.
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