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GATESVILLE, Texas - This week’s Be Remarkable takes us out to Gatesville, where a one time “pet project” has turned into a full-on animal saving rescue mission.

Seventeen-year-old Charlie Sommerfield started Charlie’s Wags and Whiskers because she noticed an overwhelming number of stray and abandoned cats in her area, where shelters are sometimes over-flowing.

“There’s not a lot of people, especially her age, that want to do things for the community, especially animals,” Elizabeth Manzano, Nominator.

Elizabeth Manzano reached out to KWTX to nominate Charlie for the award, noting that since Charlie’s Wags and Whiskers hasn’t been open long enough to qualify for grants some other 501c’s do.

But for Charlie, it’s all about keeping the doors open and it certainly isn’t about money and the inspiration came early.

“Growing up, my grandma, she was in Copperas Cove and she lived by a park. She would go out every morning and every night and feed all the stray cats. And I used to do that with her all the time, and I used to beg my mom and buy me a van so I could put pets in it,” Charlie Sommerfeld, Be Remarkable Winner.

Now, thanks to help from her mom and the community, she has her own space and is doing great work.

“We counted up all of our adoptions we’ve done just since mid-September last year, and we’ve adopted out 64 cats and dogs, and then we still have 46 in house. "

And for her finding the heart to find a home for these desperate cats, the good folks at Daniel Stark Injury Lawyers wanted to give Charlie a big thank you and a big check.

“We are looking for the communities to send us nominations about remarkable people, and you are that,” Linda McMillan, Daniel Stark Injury Lawyers.

And the chance to help is there for anyone watching, just go to Charlie’s Wags and Whiskers on Facebook.

If you know of a Remarkable person, nominate them at www.kwtx.com/BeRemarkable. And if you want to get out on the front lines like Mary, contact your local VA.