Third-grader parties for purpose

For the second year in a row, instead of asking for gifts on his birthday, Spencer Opal-Levine, 9, asked for charity donations. He calls it a “party with a purpose.”

This year, more than 30 of his classmates at Pine View School attended his party at the Crowley Museum and Nature Center and made donations to Wildlife Inc., which focuses on the rehabilitation and release of injured and orphaned animals in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Park naturalist J.T. Eldrich of Project Critter took the students on a nature walk down the Children’s Discovery Path to see deer, a raccoon and bobcat tracks. Wildlife Inc.’s Damon Hurd stopped by with a few rescued animals.

At the end of his party, Spencer handed out lime green aluminum water bottles with “Party with a Purpose” printed on them.

“Sometimes giving is the best gift,” Spencer says.