The Rome Middle School CTSOs department in front of The Salvation Army truck, ready to make the donations.

This year, the Rome Middle School FFA Chapter, with support from its CTAE department, has undertaken a significant initiative to support families in the Rome community.

In partnership with its Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs), such as the Future Business Leaders of America, HOSA Future Health Professionals, SkillsUSA and FFA, the department collaborated closely with The Salvation Army for its annual Stock the Shelves food drive to make the holidays more accessible for those in need. 

Through this schoolwide effort, students collected an outstanding 4,161 nonperishable food items, demonstrating the impact of teamwork, service and shared goals.

FFA member Addison Vicente helps to load a donation barrel, along with another CTSO member.

FFA played a key role in organizing the initiative by helping set up morning collection stations, designing fun and competitive team challenges, and encouraging schoolwide participation. Their commitment to service inspired enthusiasm across all grade levels, ensuring that every student had the opportunity to contribute.

With the combined efforts of all CTSOs, daily announcements, classroom involvement, and creative incentives, the campaign gained momentum quickly. The friendly competitions between groups helped make giving back both exciting and meaningful, strengthening collaboration across pathways such as agriculture, business, healthcare, and engineering.

FFA members help load food cans into the Salvation Army truck.

This year’s food drive not only supported families served by The Salvation Army but also gave Rome Middle School students the chance to practice leadership, responsibility and community engagement. FFA is proud to have worked alongside fellow CTSOs to uplift the Rome community and will continue to promote service and collaboration in future initiatives.