No birthday presents, just donations, please, for 11-year-old

And now, a kid who isn’t being invited on the TV morning talk shows to talk about taking selfies: Olivia Konrardy-Buchal, 11, profiled today in the La Crosse Tribune.

Olivia, of Onalaska, Wis., isn’t that interested in selfies. She’s not that interested in herself. That’s why she started a tradition a few years ago of asking family and friends not to give her presents for her birthday; donate to her designated cause instead.

The most recent cause: the La Crosse Collaborative to End Homelessness.

“I donate something. Last year, it was the (Coulee Region) Humane Society,” she tells the Tribune’s Mike Tighe.

“If people need help, I always feel like I should try to help,” the fifth-grader said.

The Coalition had a goal this year of finding housing for 10 homeless families by the end of January. It did.