When 16-year-old Samantha Olsen went to visit the Community Food Bank in Hillside with her classmates from the Transition Center School in Wood-Ridge, the Weehawken teenager was moved and wanted to do something to help the organization that feeds the needy.
“I wanted to help them as much as I could,” Olsen said.
Olsen has been a Girl Scout for five years with Troop 2268, based out of Our Lady of Fatima Church in North Bergen. Recently, she began the process to achieve her Girl Scout Silver Award.
As part of the process, Olsen had to participate in 25 hours of community service, while committing 30 hours of planning and implementing a community-related project.
Olsen thought it would be perfect if she could combine her association with the Food Bank with her goal of attaining the Silver Award.
Olsen, who has a learning disability, and her mother, Kellie Baker, went to the Girl Scouts website, which suggested a food drive as a possibility for a community-related project. That was perfect, considering that Olsen had already spent a lot of time helping out at the Food Bank in Hillside.
“She’s been going there to help for about two years now,” Baker said. “She sorts the food, cleans off the products that were donated and puts the food in boxes, so she was definitely aware of what the Food Bank does. She thought it would be great if she could do something to help them.”
Last weekend, Olsen organized a food drive at two locations – the Pathmark in Weehawken and the Pathmark in Edgewater.
Each day, Olsen spent six hours handing out fliers and letters to shoppers, asking them for a food donation to help her project.
“The people were very responsive and helpful,” Baker said. “Samantha was well accepted by everyone. The people at Pathmark were tremendous and so helpful to her. But basically, she did it all on her own.”
Can do
Olsen spent the weekend collecting can after can from the shoppers who were willing to help the cause. Her diligence paid off because Olsen was able to collect 33 bags of groceries, which were loaded up and shipped to the Food Bank earlier last week.
“We did beyond what I thought we would get,” Baker said. “I couldn’t believe how much food she got. She did a marvelous job.”
“It means a lot to me,” Olsen said. “I’m happy to help so many people. I’m happy that other people wanted to help me.”
Olsen attends the special life skills school in Wood-Ridge that helps learning-impaired students try to become as mainstreamed as possible.
“She loves the school,” Baker said. “She’s a changed person. She’s more confident. For example, with this food drive, she was handing out fliers to people she didn’t even know. A year ago or so, she never would have done that.”
Scouting is a very important part of Samantha’s life.
“She looks forward to going to Girl Scouts every week,” Baker said. “The girls are her friends.”
Olsen will receive her Silver Award in a special ceremony at the Friar Tuck Inn in Cedar Grove on June 8.
“She is looking forward to going for her Gold Award (the next level),” Baker said. “She wants to go on to become a senior Girl Scout. I think scouting is going to help her out in the long run, help her become the person she’ll be in the future. Scouting is a great place for young women to become better people, and gives them a road to follow.”
While Baker was surprised with the amount of food her daughter collected, Samantha was more confident. “I thought I could get that much,” she laughed.
Spoken like a true Silver Award winner.
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