It’s not the first time she’s celebrated her birthday by giving to others.
“She’s done this since her 10th birthday,” said her mom Angie Wilbur.
Allison, Allie to her friends, said it’s really something she enjoys doing and something that leaves her with a good feeling.
“I just like to give back instead of getting things for myself. I have so much already,” she said.
Allie said she picked Green Gables this year long before her birthday rolled around. She and a friend collected donations in Hastings a couple of weekends, her classmates at school pitched in, and she told as many people as she could about her efforts.
She said many of the items she collected are things most people sort of take for granted including toothbrushes and toothpaste, cleaning products, toiletries, and nonperishable goods. She also received as donations gas cards, money, store cards and storage containers.
“I just pretty much collected whatever I could get to help,” she said.
Allie met with the director of Green Gables to get a better understanding of their needs. She said she remembered the organization coming to Page Elementary when she was in fifth grade for the Circle of Giving.
“I remembered them talking about how they help people who don’t have any place else to go or who need to be safe,” she said. “I feel bad for those people.”
Angie said she’s getting used to her daughter’s way of celebrating her birthdays. For her 10th birthday, Allie donated to the animal shelter. The 11th birthday brought care packages for soldiers in Afghanistan and her 12th birthday donated more than $2,000 to the DeVos Children’s Cancer Research.
After her donation to the troops in Afghanistan, Allie got more than just a good feeling about helping others. Her uncle, Jeff Wilbur, made a surprise visit to Page after just returning home from Afghanistan.
He presented her with an American flag flown in her honor during a combat mission originating from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. She also received a letter and certificate from commanding officer Lt. Bran Geer, thanking her for the support she showed the troops.
“I’m just very proud of her for all that she’s done to help others,” said Angie. “I do wish sometimes I would have a normal birthday party for her, but it’s selfish on my part.”
“With all the bad things you hear going on, we have a lot of good too. Some of these kids are just doing great things,” said Angie.
Allie is also active in Girl Scouts and plays volleyball and track. She likes reading and music and most of all just helping others when she can.