Ask a 9-year-old boy what he wants for his birthday, and chances are pretty good the answer will be "toys".
A boy in Garland could have had lots of toys, but he decided he would spend his birthday doing "something good."
Kristin Patrick says several people asked her son Banning what he wanted for his ninth birthday.
"He said he wanted to help someone, help a charity but he said he didn't know how," she recalled. "I explained he could just ask people in the family for money and then he could donate or buy supplies for whatever charity he wanted to help."
Banning took his $300 in birthday money to buy items for In-Sync Exotics, a rescue organization for big cats in Wylie. Mom Kristin says it's his "favorite place to visit right now."
Kristin says Banning spent a weekend buying then delivering "brooms, rakes, plastic totes, plastic trash cans, cleaning supplies, and toys for the cats." And, she says, he bought "Obsession cologne, the cats love the smell."
"He was very proud of his accomplishment and is talking about doing this again next year with the goal of more money," says Kristin.
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And, Kristin is so proud of her son.
"What do I say about my child?", she told NBC 5, "He's a sweet kid with a heart of gold. He loves helping people and is always dropping whatever change he has into buckets to help animals, veterans, food banks, or whoever else is needing some help."
