Bethany Sullivan could have opened presents during her birthday slumber party on Jan. 18, but her four closest friends didn’t come bearing gifts.
Instead, 9-year-old Sullivan collected 33 pounds of non-perishable food items for the Delaware Food Bank.
“I saw an ad in the newspaper that said, ‘America goes hungry.’ I read that and I just wanted to collect food,” she said. “I think it’s going to go to the people who really need it.”
Sullivan said she and her friends stayed up until 4 a.m. that night performing fashion shows and singing karaoke. When it was all said and done, her mother, Meredith Sullivan, donated the food that her friends gave her.
“She truly came up with the idea on her own,” Meredith said. “Her birthday is so close to Christmas that she gets everything she wants, and it really shows her character that she notices what’s going on in the country now and wants to give to others.”
Bethany said she collected toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots drive for her birthday last year.
“I saw something that said people are out of money and I just wanted to help the little kids,” she said.
Bethany said she did receive some money from her family for her birthday and was able to purchase a few books and a karaoke CD, and she didn’t mind foregoing other gifts to help the less fortunate.
“I have some money saved and other people don’t really have that much,” she said.
Bethany, a third-grader at MOT Charter School, said her favorite subject is social studies. She participates in the Odyssey of the Mind competition and is a year-round competitive swimmer.
She said she also frequently donates to Good Will.
“Every year we go through our closets and we take out all the clothes that don’t fit me and give them to Goodwill,” she said.
Meredith said Bethany and her 5-year-old brother, James David, go along on the trips to Goodwill.
“She knows when she really doesn’t need something and someone else can make use of it,” she said. “She doesn’t feel the need to hold onto toys. I think she’s very generous.”
Bethany said giving to others makes her happy.
“I like to do it because it will help the hungry people and little kids,” she said.
Middletown, Del. —
