submitted to EFP
With eyes set on earning the North Star award through the local scouting program, eight-year old Lucas Mallia, one of the Beavers in the 3rd Essex group, recently organized a donation drive to benefit the Essex Food Bank.
Mallia was able exceed his goal of gathering 50 items, thanks to support from family and friends. Last Thursday, he proudly forwarded 328 non-perishable items to the Essex Area Food Bank, where volunteers will distribute them to local individuals and families facing economically stressful times.
The North Star Award is a big project a Beaver can choose to do before moving up to Cubs. It is a Community project of the child’s choice that combines five hours of community service with having to obtain five Outdoor Adventure Skills, which are badges that have levels one through nine in 9 different categories.
Once earned, the badge can be worn on the scouter’s uniform for any future sections in which they participate.
Mallia choose to organize a food drive to earn his badge. He asked his classmates, scouting group, family members, and friends to help so he could get as many donations as he could.
To get a sense of the need at the Food Bank, the young scouter took part in a trip to the local food distributing organization. While there, he met Gerry, a volunteer, who explained what items the Food Bank collects, how the items are distributed, and what types of items the Food Bank is often low on, which is typically tuna and canned fruit.
With a better understanding of where the food goes once he collects it, and how it helps the community, Mallia set out to garner as much support as he could.
Mallia was happy with how his food collection turned out and was thankful with how much he was able to collect. He would like to do host another food collection in the future that will not be linked to earning a badge.
The 3rd Essex Scouting group meets at Essex United Church on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.