Bret Mears, a rising junior at Calhoun High School, life-time resident of Gordon County and member of Boy Scouts of America Troop No. 39, has planned, developed and on July 18, 2009, will implement a food collection drive in connection with the work project required for his promotion to Eagle Scout, the highest ranking position in the scouting organization. Mears has established a goal of collecting two tons of food products to be distributed from Mary and Martha’s Pantry, a food bank operated by Meadowdale Baptist Church.

Mears has been involved actively with Boy Scouts of America since he was in fourth grade and currently ranks as a Life Scout. Any Life Scout seeking Eagle Scout rank must submit and complete a service project approved by the Eagle Board. In order to gain approval, the applicant must plan and develop independently a project which benefits the community and reflects the spirit of scouting. Mears received approval in February 2009.

“The idea of funding our food bank came to me when my Dad and I noticed while partici-pating in church activities that Myra Atkins, the church secretary, routinely excused herself from events to distribute food to people approaching our church for assistance,” Mears ex-plained. “I knew that my Eagle Scout project would require efforts that contributed to my community, and I just couldn’t think of a better way to serve my county than to feed its resi-dents. There’s not much sadder to me than people going hungry and I believed my skills were sufficient to lend valuable assistance while also accomplishing my important personal goal of achieving Eagle Scout rank.”

The Eagle Scout project requires that the candidate plan his own project, recruit his own volunteer staff, schedule and organize his own event and fully accomplish the goals outlined in his original application. In order to meet all those requirements, Mears solicited a volun-teer staff of more than fifteen assistants, secured the participation of five local grocers, and created work teams responsible for the collection of food, the weighing of all food collected, the transport of those food products to the church bank, the effective organization of the collected foods and an organized plan for the food, once it has been collected and stored.

Mears and his volunteers will operate a number of collection booths on July 18, 2009 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those distribution booths will be located outside a number of local grocery stores, including Food Lion, Kroger’s, Piggly-Wiggly, Walmart and Wholesale Foods. He has prepared flyers outlining his food needs for distribution to shoppers entering these stores. His hope is that Gordon County shoppers will choose food items on his list as they shop and then contribute those food items as they leave the stores. The grocery list includes nutri-tious foods such as pasta, dried beans, peanut butter, evaporated milk, canned meats and vegetables and pantry staples like flour, sugar, cornmeal and vegetable oil.

“My goal is to help feed Gordon County and I realize that some supporters may not be able to shop and contribute on that particular day or during those particular hours on that day, so my project plan also allows for the use of financial contributions,” Mears explained. “Those who are willing to do so may support the food campaign by offering tax-deductible contributions, with all checks made payable to Boy Scouts of America Troop No. 39. Any donated funds will be used exclusively for the purchase of additional food items for the pantry.”

The teenager’s involvement in Boy Scouts of America has become a family project. He is the son of Roy and Gina Mears and the younger brother of Ashley Rice and Jessica Mears. His family actively supports his project and all are accepting donations in its name. His family members, community supporters and the church congregation have all rallied to support him as he strives to accomplish a personal goal which will ultimately benefit the entire community. His anticipated collections will meet the average needs of the food pantry for one full month. Meadowdale Baptist Church also will accept food donations or financial contributions in the name of his project throughout the month.