Giving Guide: Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania

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Katelynn Britenbaugh completed her Gold Award project by building a micro food pantry at a local church, naming it the Bethlehem Lutheran Church (BELC) Blessing Box.

To earn her Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, a Girl Scout identifies an issue in their community, drafts a plan to address the root cause, and leads a team of volunteers to implement their solution.

For Katelynn Britenbaugh, the issue of addressing hunger and raising awareness about micro food pantries in her community was the driving force behind her Gold Award project titled "Give Hope: Help Other People Eat.”

Britenbaugh educated herself about micro food pantries, taking the time to research non-perishable food items, ways to seek donations, and strategies to maintain and keep it thriving.

Then, after volunteering 133 hours of her time, leading a team of 15 volunteers, and managing in-kind and monetary donations, she completed her Gold Award project by building a micro food pantry at a local church, naming it the Bethlehem Lutheran Church (BELC) Blessing Box.

Creating a system where people can take what they need and leave what they can is exactly what she had envisioned.

“I got to see my plan in action and the magic of people taking food and people stocking the micro food pantry,” she said.

Passing her knowledge and resources onto a team of volunteers ensures the future success of her micro food pantry. She also plans to continue to promote the BELC Blessing Box with other churches and non-profit groups by sharing its blueprints, donation flyers, and information on how to sustain it.

Katelynn believes that together we can help fight the battle to end hunger, and she hopes that her project will start a movement to inspire others to open more micro food pantries not only in her community, but throughout Western Pennsylvania and into neighboring states.

For 110 years, Girl Scouts like Britenbaugh have been a force for positive change in our world—tackling issues in their communities, helping others, and leading into the future. From climbing mountains to addressing food insecurities, Girl Scouts dream big and make our world better.

Want to help change the world? Invest in girls who already are. Support the next generation of dreamers, doers, problem solvers, and go-getters at gswpa.org.