Six-year-old, Patricia Bigge, is painfully shy and deeply sensitive. She worries about a homeless man and child she once saw and a schoolmate who was injured. She is scared of strangers but she will shout in alarm if you might step on a wasp on the sidewalk.
The blond-haired child is transformed around animals. Her eyes light up at the sight of birds, and she is giddy when she kisses the nose of her white guinea pig, Peep.
Patricia also loves to draw. A recent drawing of a farm scene will help her buy a cow, a goat and a garden basket to give to poor families, through Heifer International.
Holding up her drawing in church, Patricia softly asks the congregation to donate. Asked why she wants to give the poor a cow, she says she's afraid people might die of hunger and thirst. Her parents nurture her fundraising.
"She doesn't understand money," said her dad, Will Bigge, "but she understands animals."
Patricia first became interested in Heifer International at the age of four, when she saw a video about the organization. At the end of it she turned to her parents and asked "Can I buy them a goat?" From the mouth of babes came a clear desire to help. She went home and shattered her piggy bank. The next Sunday she quietly slipped all of her money into the church's offering plate. This is her third year raising money for this cause. With her parents help her fundraising efforts have expanded to include emailing people, speaking in church and hosting a root-beer float sale.
Patricia loves to receive mail. Anyone who would like to contribute to her fund to buy animals for people in need can send a check addressed to Heifer International to her church at the following address:
Patricia Bigge
C/O St. Andrews United Methodist Church
6201 Spruce Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95841
To learn more about Heifer International visit www.heifer.org
Do you a wonderful community volunteer who should be profiled for the I Care column? Please email Autumn Cruz at acruz@sacbee.com.
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