By Mary Brienza, Staff Writer
Two Monmouth Junction Elementary School fifth-graders are making a difference in the lives of unwanted animals.
The pair are raising money and collecting donations of supplies for an animal shelter in Princeton called SAVE, according to Monmouth Junction resident Jeff DiBartolo.
Mr. DiBartolo’s daughter, Amanda, 10, and her friend Kelly Muha, 10, have been collecting donations for the shelter since November, Mr. DiBartolo said.
The SAVE shelter is a non-profit organization founded in 1941 that covers Princeton Township, Princeton Borough and Lawrence Township and is located at 900 Herrontown Road in Princeton, according to the SAVE website.
Executive Director Piper Huggins said the facility comprises three buildings totaling 5,000 square feet and places an average of 400 cats and dogs to new homes each year.
About 75 animals are usually housed at the facility at any time, according to Ms. Huggins.
The shelter costs around $566,000 a year to operate, according to the shelter’s 2008-2009 annual report, with ýPage=002 Column=001 Loose,0114.09þ around 70 percent of that amount going to pay for a staff of 13 people.
Adoption fees charged by the center only cover around 15 percent of the expenses, Ms. Huggins said.
At first, the girls walked dogs to raise money, and then they eventually passed out fliers requesting donations for the shelter, Mr. DiBartolo said.
“The girls wanted to do something nice” for the animals,” Mr. DiBartolo said. “They decided to raise money for the shelter on their own.”
Amanda said they decided to help out SAVE because her brother volunteers there and she likes animals.
The girls have raised about $96 in cash so far as well as other donations of dog and cat supplies.
Both girls are in the fifth grade together at Monmouth Junction School, and have been friends since kindergarten, Mr. DiBartolo said.
“It is a no kill shelter in Princeton,” Amanda’s mom, Wendy R. Kagan-DiBartolo, said about SAVE. “(Amanda and her) friends put a lot of time into this,” Ms. DiBartolo said.
Mr. DiBartolo said the girls have collected “a lot” of donations, and are still collecting items including dog food, cat litter, toys, and money to ýPage=002 Column=002 OK,0109.09þ buy items needed by the shelter.
“My daughter attends Beth Chaim in West Windsor where they teach their students of their responsibility to help those less fortunate,” Ms. DiBartolo said. “In addition, her elementary school, Monmouth Junction Elementary School, teaches the children to treat others the way they want to be treated.”
Beth Chaim is dedicated to teaching Jewish values, according to their website.
Other students at Monmouth Junction Elementary School, Ms. DiBartolo said, have helped Amanda and Kelly.
Ms. Huggins said she was pleased with the effort to help out the shelter, which only exists through private donations and grants.
“The donations directly supports the animals in residence,” Ms. Huggins said. “We are very dependent on outside sources (of funding).”
As a “no-kill” shelter, SAVE tries very hard to place the animals that come through its doors and will keep them as long as needed to find them a good home, Ms. Huggins said.
The facility is operated by a 16-member Board of Trustees and is the only private animal shelter in the Princeton area, Ms. Huggins said.
ýPage=002 Column=003 Loose,0109.09þ Anyone that would like to donate to the shelter can drop off a check at the office or use a credit card sponsorship program, Ms. Huggins said.

