FARMINGTON — Root and Bloom Homeschool Co-op, in collaboration with the Farmington Baptist Church Youth Group and Mission Committee raised over $1,600 for the Franklin County Animal Shelter this month through a student-led spaghetti dinner fundraiser followed by a donation delivery of high-need pet supplies.

“We wanted to get children more involved in serving others,” said Victoria Staples, a parent and member of the co-op. “Root and Bloom Homeschool Co-op hosted a voting session where children could vote for one of four causes within our community to donate the fundraiser proceeds to. The animal shelter won by a landslide.”

The project brought students together to help plan and staff the spaghetti dinner, which was held as a community event. “Many kids were helpful in setting up the space the night before the event,” Staples said. “For the event itself, the children got to choose between being a server for a table, portioning out food on plates in the kitchen, helping greet community members, doing dishes or helping with the bake sale.”

After raising the funds, students met at Walmart on April 23 to shop from a list of items provided by the Franklin County Animal Shelter. “We called the shelter to determine their highest needs as we wanted this to be as impactful as possible,” Staples said. “With kitten season upon us, the needs included dry kitten and cat food, wet/pâté kitten and cat food, scoopable cat litter, litter scoops, dry puppy and dog food, Nylabones, bleach and paper towels.” The group spent around $900 on supplies, filling seven shopping carts, and donated the remaining funds to sponsor kennels and provide a cash contribution.

Staples said the experience was designed to build empathy and civic responsibility. “It’s important for our children to learn selflessness, compassion, and to have empathy for others,” she said. “The ‘community service’ piece didn’t just start and end with the donation to Franklin County Animal Shelter, but a huge impact was made on the children when they dedicated their time to serve others at the spaghetti dinner benefit. It all came together when they got to visit the animals in need the day we delivered to the animal shelter.”

The dinner received enthusiastic praise from attendees, according to feedback sent to the group after the event, said Staples. Messages included comments like, “We were delighted to be served by such poised and professionally dressed servers,” and “This was the cutest event we have attended in a long time! The kids were all very helpful and did amazing taking orders and serving food! 10/10 would go again!” Others called the event “flawless,” “extremely organized,” and “absolutely delicious.”

Staples said service is a core part of the co-op’s educational philosophy. “Integrating community service into children’s lives fosters social responsibility and a sense of purpose,” she said. “We’ve seen firsthand how it not only supports those in need but also deeply impacts the kids, motivating them to stay involved and make a difference.”

The group is already looking ahead to more service projects. “Within the next couple of weeks we are looking forward to helping clean up some outdoor areas at the Farmington Conference Center,” Staples said. “Many of our families will be helping with a Family Fun Day/Vendor Event on Saturday, June 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Farmington Baptist Church. The proceeds will go toward FBC’s mission trips next year. We also had a fantastic turnout for the spaghetti dinner, so we’d love to host another event like it in the near future.”

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