‘A credit ... to our community’
Warwick. Scouts BSA Troop 45 work around COVID-19 obstacles to hold benefit for the Warwick food pantry.
Warwick /
| 21 Dec 2020 | 01:43
Pictured in front from left are: Joshua Rodrigues, Alexander Rodrigues, Dylan Svec, Pantry Director Glenn P. Dickes, Holden Frommeyer and Soney Frommeyer; and in back, from left: Sebastian Brand and Jackson Frommeyer. In all, BSA 45 raised $4,568.43 and 361 pounds of non-perishables. Provided photo.
On Saturday, Dec. 19, Warwick Scouts BSA Troop 45 held a holiday food drive at Track 7 Postal Center on Forester Ave. for the benefit of the Warwick Ecumenical Food Pantry.
The scouts, who in the past have worked repeatedly to benefit the pantry and needy families it serves, collected non-perishable food and personal care items, as well as monetary donations.
Not to be deterred by COVID-19
On Facebook, Soney Chang Frommeyer, the mother of two scouts in the troop and the wife of the assistant scoutmaster, wrote how the BSA Troop 45 has held very successful holiday food drives at ShopRite to benefit the Warwick Ecumenical Food Pantry for the last three years.
“This year’s food drive was yet another event cancelled by the coronavirus,” she wrote. “Determined to continue their service to others, eight 11-year-old Boy Scouts from the troop chose to donate $120 of their own money to the pantry. Next, their eight scout families donated six full bags of nonperishables/personal care items.
‘Be the change they wished to see in the world’
“Family and friends of these eight scouts brought in an additional $165 and three full bags of nonperishables,” Chang Frommeyer added. “Then, the amazing Eileen Gaffney Patterson heard about the scouts’ collection and offered Track 7’s outdoor parking lot, allowing the scouts to safely conduct a larger food drive, with curbside drop off of goods on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 3 Forester Avenue in Warwick.
“News of this Saturday’s food drive was soon posted on local Warwick Facebook pages asking the community to now imagine what their collective generosity could generate ... to be the change they wished to see in the world,” Chang Frommeyer concluded. “Warwick’s response was quick and bountiful with the latest single donation being an astounding $2,000.”
In all, BSA 45 raised $4,568.43 and 361 pounds of non-perishables.
‘A credit ... to our community’
“These scouts think more of other people than they do of themselves,” said Pantry director Glenn P. Dickes. “They were outside for hours, on an unusually cold day, to collect food and money for our families. The scouts are a credit to themselves and our community. I am truly grateful for what they have accomplished.”
This story was reported by Roger Gavan and Molly Colgan.