Greener gifting & an elephant named Bryan.

 

I want to share a personal story with you, of which I’m very proud.

 

Last weekend we celebrated my daughter’s 9th birthday with a party for 10 of her friends. My daughter asked that her friends didn’t bring presents and instead if they wanted, they could make a small donation so that she might raise £36 to adopt an animal from the WWF.

I thought this was a lovely idea, and have often wondered how we can halt the tsunami of gifts parents purchase for the seemingly endless children’s birthday parties. But, I confess I felt a little nervous as I sent out the invite to the WhatsApp group; presents are the accepted norm, was asking for a monetary donation to a charity wrong? I felt unsure of the etiquette. Needless to say, the response was overwhelmingly positive, from both the parents and the children. 

We raised £200 and Molly and her friends held a vote at the party to decide which animals to adopt and what they should be called, the results were:

1.     A Jaguar, named Chai
2.     A Snow Leopard, named Blizzard
3.     A Giant Panda, named Hope
4.     And an Elephant, named Bryan (because that’s what happens when you let your 3-year-old brother choose).

Changing our habits can be hard, suggesting a new approach isn’t always easy. But, my daughter and her friends have really inspired me, I think children are more open to change than adults think and many of her friends said they now want to do the same for their next party.  

If you’d like to know more about adopting an animal from the WWF visit: https://support.wwf.org.uk/adopt-an-animal