A couple of teachers from Franklin Elementary School in Lehighton are using their May birthdays as a good excuse to raise funds and supplies for two local animal shelters.

"If you are considering getting a pet, consider these pets," said Thomas Williams, whose wife, Wendy Bussey-Williams, came up with the birthday bowling fundraiser."These pets need a nice home."About 29 students and some siblings showed up Friday evening for the pizza party and bowling at Fritz Lanes in Lehighton. In the morning, the couple plans to sort through the donations and separate them. The items for cats will go to the Carbon County Friends of Animals and the items for dogs will go to the Carbon County Animal Shelter."My wife - I'm very proud of her. She doesn't do what she has to do, she does more than she has to, and so does Paula," Williams said.Bussey-Williams said she came up with the fundraiser idea in 2014. Her first-grade students kept inviting her to all of their functions: games, recitals, etc. She went to all of their requests and supported her students. Then she thought it might be fun to invite her students to one of her celebrations - a birthday party, but she didn't want any gifts. All she wanted was donations to the pet shelters. The bowling birthday party was a great success, especially for the wannabe pets."She decided this would be a good opportunity to teach her first-grade class about helping their community by asking for donations in the form of food and supplies for the animals that were in the shelter," Williams said.Last year, Paula Bonser joined the staff at Franklin Elementary and the new first-grade teacher just so happened to have a May birthday, too. Hers is May 13 and Wendy's is May 1. Bonser was quite happy to join in the fun and open up the birthday party/animal shelter fundraiser to her students, too. The combined classes and their families donated $500 worth of supplies from dog and cat food to cleaning supplies, kitty litter and gift cards.Bussey-Williams said the party is "kind of the last hurrah" of the school year."I hope we continue this year after year," she said."It's for a great cause," Bonser said.Both women have dogs at home. The Williams have a black Labrador-German shepherd mix named Blackjack. Bonser has a Cocker spaniel named Riley, but her students call the pup Mr. Roo.Next year, another first-grade teacher will be joining the pet-loving duo. Her birthday is April 30.