Noah Beasley, a local fourth-grade student at Woolwine Elementary School, raised over $2,400 for the Patrick County Animal Shelter in November.
Kirsten Beasley, Noah’s mother, said the GoFundMe fundraiser began as part of a new family tradition. “So, we were using the month of November as our give back month. He was given three options as give back projects, and the first option I gave him was you know we could raise money for the animals at the animal shelter. Immediately he knew he wanted to do that,” she said.
Beasley said Noah is a huge animal lover who adores all creatures, even the ones she finds less appealing, such as “creepy crawlies, the earthworms, and the bugs.”
The GoFundMe campaign raised $2,410 from 60 donors. “We had friends and family, people from the county, people from other parts of the state. Actually, a couple of days ago people were still reaching out trying to donate, so I said, ‘just send your money directly to the animal shelter,’” she said.
After the fundraiser concluded, Kirsten and Noah ordered several items for the shelter from Amazon. “He picked a few things out, and then I ended up writing a check for the shelter for the rest. We didn’t want to spend all the money; we wanted to give them the money so they could address any future needs,” Beasley said. The items purchased included dog food, cat food, toys, treats, blankets, and cat litter.
Beasley believes that taking Noah to the shelter and immersing him in the experience had a profound impact on him. “I mean, you can talk about it with a fourth grader, but they don’t really understand until they’re actually there doing it. He was really excited, and after that he was telling everyone about it. He was like, ‘I’m raising money for the dogs and the cats,’” she said with a laugh.
Kirsten plans to continue this new family tradition by offering Noah three choices for their give back month next year, with the shelter being one of them. “It was honestly just a really fun thing to do, and for a fourth grader to learn how to give back to his community and make an impact, it was just really good for the whole family to see that,” she said.
The shelter staff were appreciative of Noah’s efforts. “They were so thankful for all that he’s already done,” Kirsten said.
Beasley also expressed her gratitude to everyone who donated. “It really just made a huge difference in a small county where we don’t always get the most resources or funding, so it was just really incredible,” she said.
Those wishing to donate to the shelter can make checks payable to the Patrick County Animal Shelter and mail them to P.O. Box 466, Stuart, VA 24171.
