THUNDER BAY - When Oliver Fossum was planning a party for his seventh birthday, he wanted to make it big, but the young man made a very grown-up decision when he decided to use the party to help some of the most vulnerable members of the community.
For his seventh birthday, Oliver and his family hosted a block party, and rather than ask for gifts, Oliver asked that everyone bring food to be donated to the Thunder Bay District Humane Society.
“I wanted to make the dogs and cats happy,” Oliver said.
The party was a huge success, with 73 people stopping by to not only wish Oliver a happy birthday, but also help fulfill his wish of helping rescued cats and dogs and all donated food for the Humane Society.
“This is a huge thing for us,” said Krista Bazylewski with the Thunder Bay District Humane Society. “Without the generosity of Oliver and his family and their entire community, we wouldn’t be able to run as smoothly as we do. All the food and donations we get are hugely appreciated. Without them I don’t know what we would be able to do.”
“To Oliver and the family and all the community who came out for the birthday, thank you,” Bazylewski continued. “It’s huge for us.”
Oliver said it made him really happy to help the dogs and cats at the Humane Society and he said his friends and family were all excited to help out, too.
“I thought it was pretty neat,” said Oliver’s mother, Erin Fossum. “He is an animal lover, so it didn’t surprise me. But it was his idea to make it bigger and better and make it a block party.”
The inspiration to help vulnerable dogs and cats came from Oliver’s own four-legged friend, the two-year-old family dog, Buddy.
“I just thought about my dog and thought: oh, maybe I should do something for the Humane Society,” he said.
Luckily for Oliver, his birthday, and his generous spirit, was still celebrated in some pretty spectacular fashion.
“He still scored some presents, which was really nice,” his mother said. “But then our neighbours and family and friends just sort of came over and traded food for hamburgers and sausages.”
“At one point we looked around our back yard, and we don’t have a huge house or yard, and we had more than 64 at one time,” she continued. “And we had throughout the day friends drop by and drop off some bags of food.”
Bazylewski said food is always high on the list of needs for the Humane Society and she expects the food Oliver donated to last several weeks.
With recent high-profile rescues as well as an outbreak of a respiratory illness that temporary shut down the shelter, the Humane Society is always looking to the community for help. And to have such a young person come forward with such a big heart is really special for the staff and volunteers.
“That was amazing,” Bazylewski said. “For me, as a child, I don’t know if I would ever have thought of that. It was a huge thing and I am so grateful for people who have that heart.”
