Sydney Hertzberg, a 13-year-old girl from Birmingham, won an essay contest put on by Petco. The girl is a self-proclaimed cat person, and she wrote about her love of cats and some funny experiences with them. After winning $50,000, Sydney donated the full sum to the Ferndale Cat Shelter in Ferndale, Michigan.

Hertzberg’s been a regular volunteer at her local shelter for more than a year before winning such an impressive prize.

“Sharing is caring,” and Sydney has set the bar very high by doing some incredible things for her community. She plans to start a few other projects in the future and help senior citizens as well. You go, girl!

It all began when Sydney fostered her first cat, Mr. Mittens

Being a volunteer at the Ferndale Cat Shelter and its Catfé Lounge, Sydney’s encountered a lot of kittens. One special kitten, who was only three weeks old, caught the young lady’s attention.

Hertzberg planned to give him home until he found loving parents. However, after spending some time with Mr. Mittens, she decided to officially adopt him. She became very close to the kitty, he weighed only 4 ounces when Sydney took him home, and she bottle-fed him.

Sydney adopted Mr. Mittens on October 6, 2019, and they have been inseparable ever since. She wrote a whole essay about her furry friend and won the prize.

Because Hertzberg suffers from POTS, animals help her a lot. She’s calm around them, and the pain goes away.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, is a condition that causes Sydney to overheat easily, pass out if she stands up too quickly, and it sometimes creates a lot of pain for her. She also has a separative connective tissue disorder.

We did some research, and although POTS is usually not life-threatening, it can significantly affect the quality of life. Therefore, we admire this brave, little girl who cares for others while dealing with her health challenges.

In an interview with WXYZ, Sydney explained that her condition helped her understand how important it is to help others.

“I’ve always felt a connection to cats, and when I saw that the Ferndale Cat Shelter was a no-kill cat shelter, which is one of the huge things I like to advocate for, I was really happy, and it was also one of the only lounges for cats that don’t have to be in actual shelters. That was a big thing for me and, overall, when I first saw it, I just fell in love immediately,” she said. Sydney’s parents are very proud of her, and they fully support everything that makes her happy.

As for Mr. Mittens, Sydney says that “he’s awesome. He’s swimming, he’s hiking, climbing, he’s skateboarding, he’s doing everything”

No wonder Sydney had so much to write about in her essay, Mr. Mittens sounds like quite an active furball.

We have to mention that Ferndale Cat Shelter ran on empty during the coronavirus pandemic, and Sydney knew that something had to be done. She wanted to help the shelter badly because they have been still accepting cats and doing adoptions.

In 2020, the Petco Foundation’s Holiday Wishes grant program announced that they would award animal welfare foundations with some cash. All it would take was an honest essay about the strong bond between humans and animals.

It was a perfect opportunity for Sydney to help FCS. She said that the essay “came from her heart,” adding that she simply described her illness, and how Mr. Mittens helped her a lot. Birmingham teen proudly says that she and Mr. Mittens saved each other’s life. “When I got a call from Petco saying that we were in the running to win a prize, I just bawled on the phone,” said Sydney.

The winning was a huge contribution to the shelter, and we’re happy for Sydney. FCS made her feel at home, and we think that this big donation is going to be the beginning of another beautiful story.

If all that wasn’t enough, Sydney’s got some big plans to start Sydney’s Seniors for Seniors program

The goal is to pair senior cats with senior citizens. That way, both cats and the elderly will have someone to keep them company. We must admit that it sounds like a win-win combination. Let’s wait and see how it goes.

Undoubtedly, Sydney sounds like someone who will do all in her power to make it work. Good luck Sydney, we can’t wait to cover that story.

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Source: YouTube/WXYZ-TV Detroit | Channel 7; WXYZ; CandgNews; G97Country; 99KissCountry