Local Girl Scout Works to Fight Hunger

Courtney Leedom is going for the gold. 

The 17-year-old Barnegat High School senior is working to complete a project for her Gold Award, the highest honor available for a Girl Scout, by collecting supplies for the community’s homeless and educating the public on how best to help needy neighbors. 

Leedom, a Girl Scout since age 5 and current member of the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore’s Troop 269, said personal passions have driven her to complete service projects in the past.

An animal lover, she developed a program to teach youngsters about pet care back in sixth grade. As a ninth-grader inspired by her own budding love of science, she put together fun, interactive lab experiments for kids at the library.

“When I was in elementary school, we would read out of a book a lot, and I used to hate science because of that,” she said. “I wanted to teach them that science can actually be fun.” 

This time, she’s partnering with the local branch of non-profit aid group Family Promise to take on hunger and homelessness in her hometown, setting up collection stations for food, clothing and hygiene products at town hall, the Barnegat Library, Brackman Middle School and the A&P grocery on Route 9.

The food and supplies will help stock the cupboards at area churches that offer temporary housing to needy families through the Family Promise network, Leedom said.

“They need food to feed these people,” she said. 

Leedom said she’s been happy with the support she’s seen pour in so far. Three bags full of clothes showed up at her donation station at the middle school, and her mom’s car is packed with food.

But Leedom’s efforts won’t be done when she collects the last of the donations. She’s also planning to host programs for kids and the rest of the community on how to turn a pile of nonperishables into individual, well-balanced meals. 

She’ll also show how simple fixes like new buttons and stitched-up seams can make gently worn clothing good as new for its next owner. It’s all part of her plan to show people that a little extra effort can go a long way toward helping others.

“I want people to know there are things they can do,” she said.

And there’s a need. Leedom said she thinks a lot of area residents aren’t aware just how many people need assistance, because “they don’t come right out and say ‘I need help,’” she said.

Being the one to step up and offer that help is hugely rewarding, she said, which she found out firsthand donating her time to help cook for Family Promise in the past.

“These people are just like everyone else,” she said. “The smiles on their faces are amazing to see, and it’s great to feel that you’ve had that impact on somebody’s life.”