Pooches at the K-9 Stray Rescue League will benefit from the good work of Oxford resident Bella Spezia.

Bella, a fifth-grader at Oxford Elementary (OES), donated supplies towards the local animal rescue last Saturday.

Bella became inspired while completing her fifth-grade exhibition project at OES.

During their fifth-grade year, as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, students at OES must complete an exhibition project with a group and create an action plan to help combat global issues.

Bella’s group focused on animal cruelty, which inspired her to take the project one step further to benefit her community.

She set up a donation booth at her grandmother’s garage sale, which helped her collect $140 towards the cause.

She then purchased needed collars, toys and gift cards for K-9 Stray Rescue League, a local nonprofit animal rescue.

Bella, who has a 2-year-old German Shepard named Isa, said she wants to ensure that all animals feel loved and safe, like her dog does.

“I love animals and it just always broke my heart that they get abuse,” Bella said. “I learned that there are too many animals that are getting abused and it’s not just dogs, it’s all kinds of animals. It’s important to learn about this because animals just want to be loved.”

Bella plans to use this experience to continue raising awareness about animal cruelty and teaching people how to prevent it.

“The power to change the world is in our hands,” Bella added. “It’s (a) step-by-step (process).”