Scouts place community pantry at Chaloner rec

Details: Lance Martin; News; 28 September 2018; 3660

For their Bronze Award project, the juniors of Girl Scout Troop 3023 built a community pantry box its members hope the community will help out in their efforts to keep it stocked.

The pantry, located just past the bridge at Chaloner Recreation Center, was stocked Thursday by members of the troop.

Madison Collier came up with the after seeing a similar project in which books were placed inside.

The girls decided to stock the pantry with food items, bottled water, hygiene items and even school supplies, Madison said.

"Some people don't have enough money to get these things for themselves," said troop member Akira Moody.

The pantry has the following message painted on one side of its glass doors — Take a blessing when you need one, leave a blessing when you can.

The girls did the bulk of the work, said Troop Leader Charlotte Bradley. They took measurements, picked out brackets and came up with the lettering.

They received construction help from Cleveland Moody and William Bradley. Lowe's Home Improvement, Builders FirstSource and NC Glass were also partners in the project, Mrs. Bradley said.

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"I hope it will go well," said Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Manning. "We hope people will get what they need and we hope others will contribute and give back to the community."

The scout project comes as the city plans new additions for the park, including a splash pad, new playground equipment, a paved walking trail, new shelters and the conversion of the tennis courts to multipurpose courts.

Manning said the city is hopeful the new additions will help increase the use of the park area as well as the traffic which comes through.

The Bronze Award is the highest award girl scouts in the fourth and fifth grade level can achieve, Mrs. Bradley said. "It is a community project that is sustainable and one that will go on and on."

Mr. Moody was pleased with the efforts of the scouts. "They did a wonderful job."

Meanwhile, the troop is soliciting help from the community to keep the pantry stocked. "We seek assistance to keep the box filled with supplies that our community members can benefit from the most," a letter sent out by the troop says. "We would love it if different groups, businesses or individuals could pick a month to commit to keeping the pantry stocked."

Anyone helping will be recognized in the troop's Bronze Award project.

Examples of items needed for the box are:

Canned foods

Diapers

Baby wipes

Coupons

Bottled water

Toiletries

Cereal

School supplies

For more information, to donate or volunteer to stock the pantry contact Mrs. Bradley by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 252-578-8326.