Agros Blog

It never ceases to amaze me just how much we stand to learn from children. Their perspective about the world around them is so bright, their demand for equality so unwavering, and their desire to “do good”  so pure.

I saw a great example of this in practice the other day at the St. Joseph School’s bake sale. When you think of the traditional bake sale, it’s typically employed to raise money for things the kids need, like more instruments for the school’s band or new uniforms for a sports team.

But this bake sale was different. After first being introduced to Agros and its mission by teacher Beth Peterson, the three 1st grade classrooms at St. Joseph’s joined forces and decided to put on a bake sale to raise money for the children and animals in Agros communities. Their zeal was infectious, and soon a date was set and moms and dads alike were in line last Fall ready to help bake for a cause!

On a carefully orchestrated rotating schedule of parents, students and teachers manning tables across a several hour span, the first bake sale held in the school’s cafeteria was an absolute success. Offering a variety of delicious treats, ranging from cookies to cakes anywhere from 50¢ to $2 for a bundle, the first bake sale brought in an astounding $640!

The kids clearly had a blast baking with their parents. But what may have trumped that was the fun in having the adult responsibility of selling the goodies and handling all the finances. The 1st graders were so pleased with the fruits of their labor, they decided they wanted to do it again in the Spring! In the meantime, the $640 raised was set aside for safe keeping until the next bake sale scheduled a few months later, after which they planned to present one check to Agros.

Before the next bake sale, Ms. Peterson invited her longtime friend and Agros staffer, Dave Spicer, to come share a bit more about Agros with the students. As one of Agros’ fundraising officers, this was the youngest group of “future philanthropists” he’d ever presented to. So he went prepared with rich stories and visuals to engage the children in a way that would help relate the Agros children’s daily experience as compared to their own; showing both the similarities and differences. There were many pictures of Agros children with animals like goats, rabbits, chickens and cows and the children loved it. After the presentation was over, student after student shared that they really liked that “Agros works with people and animals, and they help each other.”

Dave and I both were humbled, and wanted to make sure the kids knew how many lives their efforts would touch in such positive ways, and how inspiring they were to us personally.

When the time came for the second bake sale, the parents, teachers and students functioned like a well-oiled machine. The resources were in place, the goods were plentiful and varied (and I might add quite delicious!), and there were prospective buyers a plenty with thanks to well-placed and artfully decorated poster advertisements! Buyers came and went in steady waves, and the baked goods seamlessly replenished to meet the needs with thanks to the many organized parents behind the scenes.

It was such fun to see the 1st graders work their magic and sell people not only a delicious treat, but also talk about Agros’ mission and what inspired them to run the bake sale in the first place. It was equally heartwarming to see kids from the other grades carefully look at the photos of Agros villages we’d brought and ask such smart questions about the work.

At the end of the day, the second and final bake sale of the year brought in a little over $500! That is a lot of cookies, muffins, and cakes exchanging hands!

A few days later, in a poignant and heartfelt ceremonial gesture, the 1st graders from St. Joseph’s presented Dave with a check to Agros in the amount of $1140!

Our sincere thanks to the first grade teachers at St. Joseph’s Elementary, Beth Peterson, Mary Doquilo and Aimee Meier for their vision and leadership to see this project through, and to all the parents who offered so freely of their time and resources to bake and host the bake sale tables.

And most especially, our warmest thanks to the 63 students of St. Joseph’s 1st grade classrooms for including Agros on your journey to “do good in the world” and reminding us all of the importance of giving. We would be honored to work in tandem with you again next year, and hope you’ll share some of your coveted baking recipes with us, too!