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While most children look forward to receiving gifts on their birthday, one young islander decided to give them instead, helping the animals' shelter look after local wildlife and making other children happy for Christmas.
Beaulieu pupil Olivia (8) was first inspired to "make some children happy in Jersey" after watching 'Children in Need' with her mum, Susan Nobes.
Having recently celebrated her birthday, Olivia decided to give away some of her toys as well as a few clothes. Susan told her about Brighter Futures, a charity that supports parents, carers, children and young people in the island, and Olivia was thrilled with the idea, and took a collection of presents, toys and books to the charity at the Bridge.
Praising the little girl for her gesture, they said: "We are absolutely over the moon and overwhelmed at Olivia’s generosity and kind heart. Thank you Olivia from us all here at Brighter Futures. You will be making lots of children very happy this Christmas."
But, not satisfied with giving to one charity, Olivia was ready to make another donation.
As well as being interested in drama and cooking, animals are one of Olivia's main passions, with cuddly pet cat Pickles (18) one of her favourite friends. "She would love lots but Mummy has allergies!" explained Susan.
It was this furry friendship that perhaps inspired her to also make a donation to the JSPCA, who look after hundreds of animals in need of assistance and homes every year.
Pictured: Olivia with her favourite animal, her cat Pickles.
After mentioning donating toys to children, she turned to her mum and said: "I don't want the animals to miss out. Can I give the animals my birthday money?" Susan of course agreed and Olivia took her £35 to the animals' shelter.
Her offer came shortly after the charity issued an SOS – ‘Save Our Shelter’ – call in October amid “extremely challenging” financial difficulties. Since then, the public have rallied in support of the shelter, raising just over £14,000 on an online fundraising page.
The JSPCA was grateful to Olivia for her donation, in return giving the little girl a tour of their facilities and showing her the many animals in their care.
It was Olivia's first time at the shelter and she was delighted to get to stroke Toff, one of the cats currently in the shelter's care. She enjoyed the visit so much that it even gave her some ideas for the future.
Susan explained: "Olivia really wants to volunteer at the animals' shelter but has to wait until she is 14. In the meantime, she wants to raise more money for the animals."
"We are so grateful to Olivia for her generosity and being so thoughtful about helping others, thank you so much! A few more years to wait, but we look forward to Olivia volunteering when she is old enough."
The little girl's charitable endeavours not only impressed both charities she helped, but also her parents. Susan said: "As her Mum, I was so proud of her when she said she wanted to help the children and animals. Olivia struggles with sharing as a younger child so this has really made me and her Dad so so proud."
While this was a first for the eight-year-old girl, it probably won't be the last. In her letter to Father Christmas, she has asked if he can find a home for all the animals at the shelter.
Pictured: Olivia asked for Father Christmas's help in finding homes for all the shelter's animals.
The little girl is also trying to do her bit for the environment and has started to collect rubbish everywhere she goes, as well as any litter in the playground at school. Olivia has therefore asked Father Christmas for a litter picker to help her collect more.
She explained she does it "so the litter doesn't hurt the world" and "so the animals don't eat litter and struggle to breathe."
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