It is no secret that Martensville is full of extraordinary people of all ages. Eleven-year-old Kelsie MacDougald is one of these people. Currently in grade 6 at Lake Vista Elementary School, Kelsie has proven herself to be one amazing youth.
This past January, MacDougald decided that she wanted to do her part to help out our furry friends in need and used her birthday money to purchase items to donate to the Saskatoon SPCA. “I am a huge animal lover and I really wanted to do something to give back and now I feel really good that I am able to help, even a little bit,” Kelsie explained. From there, things continued to build and MacDougald created Paws n’ Claws Food Fund, a nonprofit that she runs to help collect donations and funds for the SPCA.
In addition to collecting donations of cat and dog food, single layer blankets, liquid laundry detergents, coupons, treats and money, MacDougald also creates her own cat toys, which she sells with all proceeds going to shelter animals.
Having grown up with cats, Kelsie has always felt an attachment to animals, which led her to strive towards a dream of being a veterinarian. “I have had cats all my life and I feel as though they were an inspiration for me to want to be involved with helping animals any way I can. That’s why I want to be a vet, so I can help.” When making donations at the SPCA, Kelsie ensures that she takes time to acknowledge each animal and let them know that she is working hard for them.
Recently, Kelsie received quite an honour as she was awarded with the 2018 CBC Saskatchewan Future 40 Bright Light winner. After being nominated for the CBC Future 40, Kelsie was surprised to be chosen.
“I am always surprised when I think about how far this has come already. I never imagined that I would be able to be this successful. I always thought it would just be a small thing and that it wouldn’t grow for a long time, but it ended up getting big quite quickly,” MacDougald said. The purpose of the Future 40 is to celebrate 40 Saskatchewan people that are under the age of 40 who are contributing to the betterment of the province.
For those interested in contributing to this incredible 11-year-old’s dream, visit ‘Paws ‘n Claws Food Fund’ on Facebook.
