When Emma Grimmond visited a local vet with a bird savaged by a cat, she was shocked to learn surgeries had a desperate need for clean linen.
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So the 14-year-old launched a campaign, enlisting the help of friends, to supply linen to vets – and they deliver towels and cloths to nine surgeries in the Maitland area.
Now Emma has been nominated as a Maitland Young Citizen of the Year.
“I am thrilled – but I didn’t launch the program for that reason,” Emma, from Maitland Grossmann High School, said. “It all started about 12 months ago when I took a bird to a vet after it had been attacked by a cat.
“That particular vet said it was always a battle to get clean linen, because they couldn’t use towels and cloths that had been washed after use.
“So I enlisted the help of friends at first to supply linen, then I contacted the Lioness Club and put out flyers to firms asking for donations.
“I then developed a business plan and kept records of what was brought in and donations made.”
Emma said the project grew and now nine vets in the area are being supplied with clean linen.
“We had 300 pieces of linen brought in when we started off, but the nicest part is seeing how grateful the vets are for what we are doing,” she said.
Emma’s ambition is to become an engineer, working with architects to design buildings.
“I don’t like rows of buildings all looking the same,” she said. “But most of all, I enjoy projects that benefit the community.”
