A 10-year-old Abbotsford girl was awarded on Dec. 11 with the Hero of the Week from the Abbotsford Fire Fighters Charitable Society for her work in collecting donations for animal-rescue groups.
Julianna Church received a $100 cheque, which was presented by Abbotsford fire hall 6 at her school, McMillan Elementary.
It all started at the age of five, when Julianna decided that she didn’t want presents on her birthday, but wanted to help animals.
For her sixth birthday, she collected money at her party and donated to the Abbotsford SPCA.
For her seventh birthday, she wanted to help a dog from a Chilliwack rescue named Sasha that needed new hips. So she again asked for money instead of presents.
On her eighth birthday, she collected money for SAINTS (Senior Animals in Need Today Society) in Mission.
She went on a trip to Alberta that next summer and came across the Northern Lights Wolf Center and, because of her love of wolves, she decided this was the place that she was raising her money from now on.
On her ninth and 10th birthdays, she collected and donated $600 to the organization.
She visited Yellowstone National Park over this past summer to learn more about wolves.
Julianna’s dream is to be a conservation officer and wildlife biologist.