5th Grader donates food to animal shelter

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)--When 5th grader Genesis Rodriguez came up with the idea to donate dog and cat food to El Paso Animal Services, her community rallied around her. When our ABC-7 crew arrived at her school, Paso Del Norte Fine Arts Academy, the hallways were filled with hundreds of bags and stacks of cans of pet food.

Genesis has a dog of her own at home but wanted to do more. Her school held a dance, and the price of admission was $3, or a bag of pet food. You can see from the video posted above that the community was extremely generous. In fact, Jessica Navarro from EPAS says donations this big are rare. She had recently paid a visit to the school, explaining how desperately the shelter needed donations.

"We're very grateful for these donations. They're going to help the pets at our shelter and we appreciate Genesis and everything she did for us," Navarro says.

Genesis says every day during morning announcements, students are told to "find the art in your heart." She says she found hers by helping her furry friends and her community. Her proud Principal, Adalberto Garcia, is basking in the realization that his school is turning out not just smart kids, but compassionate kids.

"The art in their heart could in this case be providing service, the greater need in their community or music, or theater or dance. Finding the heart is very important to us," Garcia says.

EP Animal Services is always in need of donations, including dog and cat food, litter, blankets and crates.