For their 13th birthday, Ana and Elena Allen of New Ipswich said “No thanks” to presents. Rather than earrings, music or clothes, the sisters asked family and friends to make a donation to Kitty Rescue.

Opening one birthday card after another, they gasped as the cash and checks mounted up — $520 to help their feline friends.

It’s Saturday morning. The girls are seated side by side on their living room couch. Ana in pink, Elena in blue. Their teachers and classmates at The Well School in Peterborough like it when the twins wear different colors. That way they might get their names right. Max, whom the sisters thought was a bear when they first saw him years ago, is sprawled at the girls’ feet. Several cats — gray ones, tigers and black-and-white ones — come and go.

With bright smiles that never leave their brown faces, the girls tell me about their birthday party, their friends, their parents, school and more. I ask a question, Elena answers in a few sentences. Then Ana picks up the story for a while. Then Elena. The story flows from the two as if from one.

Elena and Ana got the idea for their fundraiser birthday party after reading this column in February, a glimpse inside Kitty Rescue, the Jaffrey shelter that is home to 150 cats. Most of these cats are still awaiting adoption. “Since our parents won’t let us adopt any more cats, we thought raising money would be a good way to help.”

They credit their friends in the seventh-grade class at The Well School, and former classmates at Pine Hill School in Wilton for being so generous. “When we told them how much we raised, everyone was so happy, because we all love cats. They’re just so cuddly; we’ve loved them ever since we were little.”

“But what about Max the dog?” I ask.

The girls eye each other, pick their words carefully. “Well, Max is good. But cats — well, ummm, we just like cats more.” Yet they knew they couldn’t bring any more home. Besides Max, whom the Allens adopted six years ago, the girls have collected six cats over the years. Kittens born in a barn down the road. A stray from three streets over. Another and another: Misty, Dusty, Smokey, Beau, Tom and Mittens. “That’s enough,” said their parents, Lisa and Scott. “No more.”

“I’m odd man out,” said Scott. “Everyone in this house is adopted but me. His wife, Lisa, was adopted as an infant. When the couple decided they also wanted to adopt, Lisa insisted they look for siblings. She hadn’t liked being an only child.

In July 1998, the Allens went to Romania to meet their daughters. The heat was brutal — 120 degrees when they landed. They got a few hours of sleep at their hotel, then a driver picked them up and took them to an orphanage in another part of the city. In short order, a woman at the orphanage handed Ana and Elena to Scott and Lisa.

“We became a family right then,” Lisa said. “We loved them from the start, held them close, right to our chests that whole month in Romania.” It took that long to complete the paperwork, get the proper stamps and traveling papers. When the Allens became a family, the babies were 17 months and weighed only 17 pounds, about 30 percent less than normal. In the month the family was still in Romania, the girls learned to walk and they spoke their first words. They began putting on weight and getting stronger.

Scott wonders aloud if the girls being adopted has anything to do with their desire to adopt every stray they see. The twins look at each other, then to their parents. Elena shrugs. Then Ana. “Maybe. I guess so. I don’t know,” is all they say. But the question launches them into other stories. They really love cats, but these girls seem to understand and love everything that breaths, slithers, walks or swims.

When they were 4 years old they found an 18-inch snake. With their little hands wrapped around its wriggling body, the sisters cradled their new friend across the yard and into the house. A present for mom. When Lisa found the snake curled up on her desk, she explained to the girls that the snake would probably be happier outdoors with his friends. That made sense to them. They gently picked it up, and returned the snake to its home.

“We like bunny rabbits, too,” Elena added. “And horses.” Since they were toddlers, the girls have loved horses. They spend time down the road at Cabin Fever Farm, riding, grooming the horses and cleaning out the stables.

“And frogs and turtles. We really love turtles.” From their house on a pond, Elena and Ana dive for turtles — painted ones and snappers. They know the one with a shell the size of a hubcap could hurt them, but they can’t imagine he ever would. “He’s big and he must be pretty old,” they surmise. “The baby snappers are sooo cute. We like to pick them up.

Every time we dive down, we pick up a turtle. Every single time; we just know where they are.” Scott nods. “We have no idea how they do it. But it’s true; every time they dive, they come up with a turtle, a frog, something.”

Last summer, the sisters became certified SCUBA divers so they can explore the turtles and fish beyond the reach of snorkeling. They plan to swim a lot this summer, and ride horses, and volunteer at Kitty Rescue, cleaning up, and visiting with the cats.

We wrap up our visit just before noon. The girls need to get ready for their friend’s 13th birthday party. They’re bringing Jake Hollander of Peterborough — the birthday boy — just what he asked for, nonperishable items for the local food bank. Like the Allen twins, Hollander decided he could have his cake and help others, too.

The twins explain they didn’t start the idea of giving back at their birthday party. One of their friends organized a Pennies for Peace drive last year. Giving back is something of a tradition with students at The Well School. The students there know something: It’s good to give. It’s cool to give. Just do it.

“It’s so easy. And it’s fun. We’re going to do it again for our next birthday,” Ana and Elena promised.

The sisters have some advice for others wanting to have a Great Birthday Party.

Tips for a Great Birthday Party:

1. You can still have a party — so pick a theme. The twins chose Alice in Wonderland.

2. Decide who you want to help: food bank, Kitty Rescue, Big Brothers Big Sisters — any organization that helps others.

3. How do you want to help?

• Raise money — ask for donations in any amount instead of gifts. In the invitation, let friends and family know to whom to write a check.

• Volunteer — your party could pick up litter and then go out for pizza, or help paint playground equipment, or plant flowers for someone who is unable to do it.

• Collect items: food, clothes for poor, cat food, dog food, or other items charities need.

• Put on a play for a senior citizens home.

4. It’s OK to accept a gift if someone still wants to give you one (like your parents).

Annie Card, owner of Annie Card Creative Services, developed her love for stories during her 16 years at Yankee Magazine. As executive director of a nonprofit she founded in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, she used her photography and storytelling skills to attract money and volunteers. She continues to help nonprofits tell their stories. Have a favorite volunteer in your town? Tell Annie at annie@anniecard.com.