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TOOELE -- That spirit of service has already taken hold in a 5-year-old girl from Tooele. She's got a pre-school platform of saving endangered animal species.
In between tea-parties and dress-up sessions, Victoria Quintana has taken on a mission to save the animals.
"I don't like them (to) be killed. And if they're all dead you can never see them, but just in the zoo," said Victoria.
"I was at the sink doing the dishes and she was like "mom! Mom! We need to save the tigers, people are killing them," said mother Kristina Quintana.
Victoria got serious when she enlisted the help of her three-year-old sister and together they began to save all of their money and allowance. Then they started selling cookies outside stores and garage sales, pitching their story to anyone who would listen. Their mom says many people were surprised these little girls knew so much about the cause.
I love these animals because they're the prettiest ever. And they're really cool!
–Victoria Quintana
"Guess what? Poachers killed thirty rhinos! And hid their horns," Victoria said.
After the girls had donated close to four hundred dollars, the World Wildlife Fund started sending them stuffed animals and information about the organization's efforts.
"We get their newsletters in the mail," Victoria said, "And I read them. The whole entire thing. They hang up pictures - ‘We saved this tiger,' ‘We saved this gorilla' - and I'm like, ‘That's fantastic!' I love it that that's what they tell people."
Victoria says she knows her efforts give animals a better chance at surviving in the wild...
"I love these animals because they're the prettiest ever. And they're really cool!"
The goal for 2012 is to raise more than five thousand dollars.
