At nine-years-old, Glen Allen (centre) is already a philanthropist.

The son of Georgian Nursing instructor Deb Witmer, Glen raises money each year by asking his friends to bring $10 to his birthday party in lieu of a gift.

He uses half of the money to buy himself something special and donates the other half to a charity of his choice. His mother matches the amount raised.

In the past, he’s raised money for a museum, cancer runs and walks for health care research, but this year he chose to donate his money, $80, to Georgian’s future Centre for Health and Wellness.

“I chose Georgian because my mom works there and I know it will be used to help build something that’s like a hospital and helps people,” says Glen.

“It makes me feel kind of good to give them the money. They can use it however they want.”

But the youth says what he’s done is nothing special.

“Everyone in my school does it now, nobody brings gifts anymore to parties,” Glen adds.

“After all, you can get toys you really don’t want, or be able to pick something you really like and give to charity. It’s way better.”

Georgian also received donations for the new health and wellness building from The Sarjeant Co. Ltd. ($250,000), Scotiabank ($100,000) and Metroland Media Group ($100,000 gift-in-kind).

For more information on the Georgian Centre for Health and Wellness, click here.