WALBRIDGE, Ohio (WTVG) – The village of Walbridge is home to little free libraries and little free pantries and now, thanks to the work of an Eagle Scout, there are three free pet pantries.
A local high school student came up with an idea to help pets and their people. It is based on the take what you need and share when you can philosophy. His creations are making a big splash in the small Wood County village.
The Eagle Scout’s name is Carson Benton. He is a senior at Lake High School and a member of Boy Scout Troop 332 in Luckey.
His pet pantry project provides a way for people to get everything from food to toys for free. It also gives people a way to help their neighbors.
As part of his Eagle Scout Service Project, Benton built a trio of pantries with his dad’s help.
“They can find dog and cat toys, cat litter, dog and cat food, bowls, leashes and collars,” Benton said.
The project took several months from start to finish and the three pantries first opened their doors in December.
“People are using it. It is very popular in the village. We’ve had to refill them a couple of times now,” Benton said. “It makes me happy to see the community on board with this and it won’t be pushed aside. We spent a lot of time on this and I hope the next Eagle Scouts are inspired by this and make something of their own.”
The pantries are in Railway Park and Loop Park as well as in front of Random Acts of Walbridge.
“I am the mother of seven, so I am passionate about kids and teens. It’s important to get them involved in the community,” Random Acts of Walbridge owner Caryl Stone said.
Stone loves the double benefit of Benton’s pantry project, providing free help and giving people a way to help others.
“It gets emptied and then filled up and then emptied and filled again, it is wonderful to know my community supports it,” Stone said.
The mayor of Walbridge said he loved the project as soon as Benton pitched the idea.
“I think we all have it internally, we want to give back if we can. This is a very positive community-building activity that allows people to do that,” Ed Kolanko, the mayor, said. “It’s neighbor helping neighbor and we definitely could use a lot more of that every day.”
Right now, most of the focus is on food, toys and supplies for dogs and cats. But, donations for any household pet are welcome. In addition to building the pet pantries, Benton also raised money to help get them stocked at first.
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