Girl's bracelets help Humane Society
MARS — Madeline Nacey isn't like other girls her age, who are more concerned with dolls or playing with friends. She wanted to help the animals she saw during a trip to the Butler Humane Society, so she did something about it.
Madeline, 9, of Mars makes bracelets out of yarn and hemp to help raise money for the humane society.
While her bracelets never come with a price tag, a sign urges people to donate whatever they can to help. Madeline has raised about $100 since last spring, when she first started making and displaying the bracelets.
Madeline understands that underfunded kennels or humane societies are often forced to make hard decisions regarding the lives of their animals. That, she said, was her primary motivation to make a difference and help any way she could.
“I just thought, ‘I want the animals to have a happy home and not to suffer,'” she said.
“It makes me feel really good to help. I used to have a hamster and it died. I don't want any other animals to die like my hamster.”
Once completed, Madeline takes the bracelets to Martella Specialty Shop in Mars for display. Lucy Nacey, Madeline's mother, stops by the shop every now and then to collect the donations that have accumulated.
“People put a dime or a penny or a dollar, it doesn't matter. Anything helps,” she said. “Whether it's a quarter or a couple of dollars, I give it to my husband to put it in an envelope. Whenever there's a significant amount we write a check to the humane society.”
Lucy described her daughter as someone who's always anxious to help around the house. She also said her daughter has always been an animal lover and that something clicked in her mind on their last visit to the humane society.
Now that little Madeline is intent on raising money for the society, Lucy said she'll encourage and help her daughter as long as the project continues.
“I'm very proud of her,” she said. “I'm proud that at such a young age she can foresee bigger things than just playing with friends.”
Marta Tekula, who owns Martella Specialty Shop in Mars, said she hasn't met any other child quite like Madeline. That's why she wanted to help when the young girl asked if she could display her bracelets in the store.
Janet Lee, who works at the store and is familiar with Madeline, is also stunned by her will and determination to actually make a difference for something she cares so much about.
“She is a precious little girl,” Lee said. “She always thinks of others before herself.”
