JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- When a St. Johns County girl was told she was too young to volunteer at animal shelters around the First Coast, she came up with a solution.
Ava Danielsen, 7, started her own organization called "Beach Dog USA". She is collecting donations and rounding up help for those overcrowded shelters that initially turned her away, but still need her passion.
"I started Beach dog USA because I love animals," Danielson said.
Someday, she says she wants to be a veterinarian or a paleontologist, but for now, she is focused on being the founder and president of her organization.
"How I came up with the name? My dog Nova," she said. "She loves going to the beach and so do I and I just love America."
She’s probably the youngest businesswoman in St Johns County, but what she lacks in age, she makes up for in perseverance.
"So far, we have 160 pounds of food," she said. "I wanted to volunteer, but I’m too young.
Now, she's committed.
"I want to do it for the rest of my life," he said.
Surrounded by a loving family and pets of her own, little Ava can’t stand the sight of homeless animals.
"Because they’re just so cute, I want them to have a home and I want them to have a family," she said.
For her upcoming 8th birthday party, she’s informed her friends that she’ll be accepting donations for the shelter in place of gifts. She says her friends on completely on board.
She wants no animal left behind, that includes the many animals she's held as a young kid, like pythons and tarantulas.
She has a list of donation items they’re accepting to bring to the shelters in need.
"All of that information is on my blog," she said.
Yes. She has a blog. And several social media accounts.
She has a message for other kids her age who may be small, but dream big: "I want to tell them, if you want to do it, just do it, and don’t be nervous."
The Jacksonville Humane Society says they’re seeing more and more kids her age wanting to help out. They are using social media as a tool to bring in donations and get the word out about the need for adoptions and foster homes. They say everything helps because the need is always there.