Girl's love of animals knows no bounds Seven-year-old raised over $300 for Jersey Shore Animal Center BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent Every day, Lauryn Booth makes sure that her two cats - Nikki and Sunshine - get enough of food to eat and plenty of hugs and kisses. PATRICIA A. MILLER Seven-year-old Lauryn Booth makes friends with Lady Penelope, a 10-week-old kitten at the Jersey Shore Animal Center Sunday. Lauryn raised over $300 in donations from her lemonade stand last month and gave all the money to the shelter. But the 7-year-old second-grader at St. Dominic School knows that there are a lot of other animals that aren't as lucky as her two cats. The little girl set up a stand at her aunt's garage sale in Point Pleasant Beach last month and sold lemonade and iced tea. She then donated all of the proceeds of her sale to the Jersey Shore Animal Center on Brick Boulevard. "I am really happy to help the animals with the food and medicine they need," said Lauryn. "I love them." Lauryn charged 25 cents a cup for lemonade and iced tea at the sale. That netted her $50. She raised another $250.34 through word of mouth donations from family and friends for a grand total of $300.34. "When people found out what she was doing, they just gave her money," said Kate Booth, Lauryn's mother. "She did a very wonderful thing," said Patricia Wallace, the executive director of the nonprofit animal shelter. "We're thrilled when a child steps up to the plate and holds a fundraiser for the shelter. Usually a child of her age is focused on friends, computers and other things. She really looked beyond that." Wallace gave Lauryn a tour of the shelter and invited her to appear on JSAC's weekly television show on Comcast Channel 97 to be interviewed. "It was cool being on TV," said Lauryn, who was given a kitten named Mustang to play with on the air. Lauryn also appeared in the St. Dominic School newspaper and her class watched her appearance on the show. "Everyone cheered for me," she said. "They said it was really cool." Lauryn's efforts also gave that little kitten she played with on the air a new home. Three days after she taped the show, Lauryn's aunt in Toms River adopted Mustang. "His name is Simba now," she said. It was only the second time a child has made such a sizeable donation to the shelter, Wallace said. The first was a little boy who did something similar as a Boy Scout project, she said. "I think it's charming and inspiring that a little girl like Lauryn took the time to think about animals," Wallace said. "She really does love animals." Lauryn first saw shelter employees at work when JSAC employees bought shelter and therapy animals into the school for an assembly, Wallace said. "Her mom called and wanted to know if it would be all right for Lauryn to make the donation herself. She came over, made the donation and we did a five-minute segment. She's a little T.V. star. It's so heartwarming, especially with the holidays. For more information about the Jersey Shore Animal Center, call (732) 920- 1600, or visit www.jerseyshoreanimal center.org.