11-Year-Old Vegan Activist Launches Animal Sanctuary Support Organization

Eleven-year-old animal rights activist Genesis Butler recently launched her own nonprofit organization Genesis for Animals to provide funding for animal sanctuaries. Donations through the nonprofit will contribute to sanctuaries most in need and help cover costs for general care, food, shelter, transportation, and vet visits. Butler created the charity by paying for all set-up fees and donating $5,000 of her own money to the nonprofit. “I chose the name Genesis for Animals because my name means a new beginning and I want to help give animals a new beginning,” Butler posted on Instagram. “I am now beginning to raise funds for sanctuaries and shelters throughout the nation.” Genesis for Animals is now recognized as 501c3 charity, and all donations are tax deductible. Butler, who went vegan at the age of six after discovering the milk she was drinking came from mother cows, has earned awards for her activism such as Animal Hero Kids’ Sir Paul McCartney Young Veg Advocate Award, PETA’s Youth Activist of the Year Award, and the Lisa Shapiro Youth Activist Award. Butler joins other young vegan activists who are speaking out about saving animals, such as 8-year-old Evan LeFevre (known as “Vegan Evan”) who recently toured Hawaii to give lectures about veganism, animal rights, and the environment.