Teen Obsessed with Bindi Irwin Since Age 3 Spends 8 Years Saving Money To Finally Meet Her Idol
Many of us had heroes growing up. Whether it was a prominent activist, the firefighter who lived down the street or your own father, these people shaped our passions as young children.
For 13-year-old Lily Polzin, her hero has always been Bindi Irwin.
“Lily first saw Bindi on Bindi The Jungle Girl at the age of 3 on YouTube. Instantly loved her upbeat energy,” Ann Polzin, her mother, wrote in a message to Liftable, a section of The Western Journal.
Two years later, when Lily needed to pick a celebrity for a school project, Bindi was the only natural choice.
Bindi Irwin even inspired the young Wisconsin girl to begin reading!
“She fell in love with the Bindi Wildlife Adventure books,” her mother told Liftable. “It made her feel like as a kid, she could make a difference.”
Over time, Lily began telling her mother that she desperately wanted to travel to Australia to meet the young woman who had inspired her so much.
Polzin told her that if she saved up for her own airline ticket that they could go. With that promise in mind, Lily began to develop her young entrepreneurial spirit.
She began seeking out new ways to raise money for her trip, like setting up lemonade stands, while her love for Bindi continued to grow.
For her 10th birthday, Lily requested a Bindi-themed birthday party, complete with Bindi balloons.
Less than three years later, the now 13-year-old Lily had finally saved up enough money to travel to Australia.
Not wanting to break her promise to her daughter, Polzin did everything in her power to make sure Lily could finally visit the Australia Zoo, despite difficulties with work.
As Polzin was looking for tickets to the zoo, she noticed that there was a special brunch planned for International Women’s Day while they were in town and Bindi would be speaking at the event!
She tried to buy tickets, but only business tickets were left. Thankfully she was able to talk to kind customer service agent named Catie.
“I told her all about Lily, how she admires Bindi, has done the read-a-thon for the zoo for years, saved her money, couldn’t do the zoo keeper program because it wasn’t available when we would be in Australia,” Polzin told Liftable. “She was so kind, she offered to give Lily a private tour of the zoo and the animal hospital, and sent me a link to get tickets to the brunch.”
Even though Catie wasn’t working while they were visiting, Polzin and Lily were able to go to the brunch, meet Bindi and her family, and go on a special tour of the animal hospital.
Something that really surprised Polzin was that Bindi not only met and hugged Lily, but she also took the time to talk to Lily about animals.
“Lily said her legs wouldn’t stop shaking and she couldn’t stop smiling when she met Bindi,” Polzin said.
Lily was also able to participate in the zoo’s “Zoo Keeper for a Day” program where she was able to interact with even more animals.
They were also able to visit Lady Elliot Island, a place she had read about in a “Bindi Wildlife Adventures” book.
“Lily has become passionate about saving endangered animals and saving the Rainforest because of Bindi and her books,” Polzin said. “She does litter pick ups has committed our family to living Palm Free, and wants to start a home school eco club.”
This special trip only solidified the young girl’s love for animal conservation and Polzin told Liftable that she was sure that it wouldn’t be their last trip to Australia.
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