Mara Manning and Kaylee Rickerd share more than just a birthday, they share the same generous spirit. The two Charlotte residents turned 10 years old Monday, Oct. 27 and instead of a big long wish list, the girls asked for one thing — board games.
The games, they decided would be donated to children in need — either at the Youth Haven Ranch in Jackson or at the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital. It’s an idea they’ve been working on for about a year.
“They created a ‘treasure chest’ last year after they found out they missed out on donation time for Youth Haven Ranch,” said Bev Manning, Mara’s mom and Kaylee’s grandma. “They started to overly charge for work around the house and put all of the money they made or found in that chest.”
Bev said she suspects there’s more than $70 in the chest. She said the girls plan to use the money to purchase games to add to their birthday haul.
The girls sent out invitations to their Oct. 25 birthday party requesting wrapped board games and shared their intentions. They ended up receiving 52 games and close to $80 in cash to add to their treasure chest.
The girls have ideas of spreading their donations to as many organizations as possible, though Bev said they had to reign in their enthusiasm a little bit because there were so many things the girls wanted to do. A few of the games were given to a family friend — a seven-year-old former Charlotte resident who is battling cancer.
“They are amazing little girls,” Bev said. “At 10 years old I would have had a long wish list.”
