A teen fostered 300 kittens and raised $25,000 for shelters

Sawyer Tinsley has fostered nearly 300 kittens and raised more than $25,000 for local no-kill shelters, all of which started with one loud purr. She was 10 when her parents agreed to let her foster kittens in Jupiter, Florida, on the condition she keep them in her room. The family already had three dogs, one of whom did not care for cats. Then middle school arrived during COVID-19, her old friends scattered to another district, and Sawyer came home lonely most days. The kittens helped. She figured they might help her isolated friends too, so she started inviting people over to hold them. Now 16, she and a few volunteers spend August evenings quietly planting 15 pink plastic flamingos in neighbors' yards, with a sign asking for shelter donations. Neighbors nominate each other for the pink surprise. "Petting a sweet kitten is so calming," Sawyer says. "If everyone could do it, I think the world would be a thousand times happier."