WESTBOROUGH – You can see the kindness in the bags of groceries collected by the Boy Scouts, the handmade cards that will be sent to military personnel overseas, the thank-you notes and the packs of seeds.
The fifth annual Kindness Week kicked off on Nov. 12 at the Westborough Food Pantry and at Westborough High School (WHS).
At WHS, visitors could show kindness in a variety of ways.
Outside, participants took part in a “Drum Up Kindness” event and tossed a ball with members of the Westborough Police Department while the Girl Scouts sponsored a sidewalk chalk art station.
Inside, there were opportunities to make gratitude cards, paint Kindness Rocks that will be planted at the Westborough Public Library and learn about ways to help the community.
At the Forbes Community House, home of the food pantry, Hunter Felton coordinated his fellow Scouts in delivering and sorting donations for the townwide “Scouting for Food” drive.
“Troop 100 is the flagship for the food drives,” said Felton, who is a junior at WHS and senior patrol leader with Troop 100.
Felton helped direct deliveries to a weighing station before they went upstairs to be sorted. There, scouts and volunteers checked each item..
“I love helping the community,” said Felton.
“I really enjoy helping people out,” said Troof 100 member George David “Oscar” Hubbard IV. “It may take some of your time, but if you get to help people out, it’s worth it.”
The food pantry’s Facebook page reported that the scouts had collected more than 4,800 pounds of food.
The donations from this year’s drive are needed, according to Polly Thayer, who is the pantry’s coordinator of volunteers and food drives.
According to Thayer, items most in demand include beef stew, pasta and pasta sauces.
“Our shelves have never been this bare,” she said. “We were serving 75-80 families, but we’re now serving 110 families. The need is unbelievable.”
Kindness Week continues through Nov. 18, and is sponsored by Westborough Connects, in cooperation with its Partners in Kindness.
For information and updates, visit https://www.westboroughconnects.org/programs/2022/11/12/westborough-kindness-week.
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