Stuart residents are reminded of an opportunity to help support local law enforcement tonight.

A spaghetti dinner fundraiser is taking place from 4:30-7 p.m. at the Independent Order of Oddfellows building located at 121 North Gaines Street in Stuart. The meal will include a salad, spaghetti, breadstick, and beverage, and a freewill offering will be accepted to go towards the Stuart Police Department reserve officers. The department has three reserve officers who serve the community, and community members Ronnie Henderson and Ashley Guisinger thought it was time to support them.

Henderson says if the public doesn’t help the officers to ensure they have the funding and equipment they need, then they can’t protect residents, “The reserves are volunteers, they need so much stuff. They don’t even have a budget, I mean their budget comes from the police department’s budget or whoever they’re working for that weekend.”

This is the second fundraiser Henderson and Guisinger have organized, after holding a 50/50 raffle at last year’s Scoop the Loop events in Stuart. Henderson hopes to have a large enough attendance to make this a recurring event for years to come.