The Scout motto is Be Prepared, and a local Scout is making sure others are prepared for the cold weather.
Kimberlye Ducharme of Hawkesbury is a member of the 58e Fournier Scout Troop, which meets in Alfred. She is also in Grade 6 at École élémentaire catholique Paul VI in Hawkesbury. The third-year Scout was earning her Wolf Badge and decided to provide mittens and scarves for anyone who needs them. She approached the Hawkesbury Rotary Club about offering them at their Tiny Library box near the Pizza Pizza in downtown Hawkesbury, and the club agreed.
“I know there are some people around town and other places who don’t have the money,” (to buy scarves and mittens), she says. “It could help a lot of people.”
Kimberlye says she lives in a household that has things and never worries about going without, unlike many others.
Offering scarves and mittens has gone beyond being just a project to earn a badge.
“Now it’s a project to help people in need,” she says.
At the beginning of the project, Ducharme was purchasing scarves and mittens to leave in the Tiny Library. Since then, she has begun to receive donations. People are welcome to leave clean, new and used items in the box during the rest of the winter season.
Kimberlye’s father, Jacques-Martin Beaudry, said this is not the first time his daughter has taken the initiative to help others in need.
“She likes making other people’s welfare better,” he said.
Beaudry said Kimberlye’s past activities have included gathering clothing and Christmas gifts for people, and a food drive at her school.
