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Date: 8/11/2021
WILBRAHAM – Mason Crochetiere, a boy scout and student in the online Freedom Project Academy school, recently completed his Eagle Scout project and learned about being a leader at the same time.
Eagle Scout is the Boy Scouts of America’s highest rank. In addition to earning merit badges in areas such as personal management, family life and environmental science, a scout must choose and complete a community service project to become an eagle scout.
Crochetiere reached out to Wilbraham Public Library Director Karen Demers to learn what needs the library may have. Demers told him of the small food pantry that had been created by the library in an unused shed on the property. She said it needed shelves on which to store donations. When Crochetiere saw the outdoor cupboard, he realized patrons would need to reach the back and thought that rotating “lazy susan”-style shelves would best utilize the space.
After identifying the project and a basic design, Crochetiere called in the troops.
“A big part of an Eagle Scout project is leadership,” he said. “Woodworking as a whole is not something I’m familiar with. I had to call in assistance from a lot of people, especially my scout troop.” Crochetiere said that he explained his vision and directed the volunteers. While cutting the wood was left to the adults, the scouts sanded, stained and assembled the shelving.
When done, the food pantry had two sets of shelves, each one 28 inches in diameter with three and four levels to accommodate various-sized boxes and cans. The project wasn’t finished, however. The scouts also made a wooden sign for the pantry and flyers to promote the new community resource.
Crochetiere’s “greatest takeaway” was a lesson in how to think of the big picture and manage others. “I kind of realized how it was similar to the job I want to do, which is a game designer, because you have to think about all the parts of the game and how it’ll work, even though the art and coding is done by someone else,” he said.
The Wilbraham Public Library Food Pantry is located at 25 Crane Park Dr., at the side of the building next to the book return drop boxes.