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Community
22 JAN 2021

12-year-old animal lover collects bottles and cans for cats and dogs

Vaughn is only 12 years old, but he has already raised more than $500 for Sydney Dogs and Cats Home.

“At school we have SOL Service, which is where we do something for the community,” says Vaughn.

He chose fundraising through the Return and Earn NSW container deposit scheme.

“We got a dog from the home a few years ago, so I decided to raise some money for them because they’re a charity,” says Vaughn.

“Our family are big recyclers and I figured we could raise a lot of money because other people in the community would give us their bottles and cans too,” he explains.

He set up a collection bin out the front of his Connells Point home and put up some posters around the neighbourhood.

After his mum Barbara posted on their community Facebook page, Vaughn’s fundraiser got even more attention. People started dropping off containers and local businesses and sports clubs donated too. Even their local member Mark Coure MP donated money for the home.

Vaughn says altogether he’s returned about 3,000 containers for 10c apiece, with the extra funds coming from donations.

While his 2020 fundraising campaign wrapped up at the end of October, Vaughn already has even bigger plans for 2021. “I’ll work with local restaurants and cafes to collect their containers too,” he says.

Money will keep going to the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home.

In the meantime, Vaughn has plenty to do looking after his pet dog, Mega, a two-year-old Doberman. “He’s very energetic. We take him for lots of walks,” adds Vaughn.

Find out how you can fundraise for your favourite charity, visit Fundraising. You can download our fundraising toolkit to get you started.