SoHi Junior builds perpetual woodshed at Food Bank

No one deserves to be hungry is the motto of the local Food Bank and now thanks to the efforts of Sage Hill no one deserves to be cold on the Kenai can be included. There is a new woodshed at the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank on K-Beach Rd., due to Hill’s efforts, a junior at Soldotna High School and Eagle Scout candidate. For his project Hill identified a community need, “The idea came from my parents and leaders of my scout troop helped me develop the project. The materials to build the shed came from Spenard Builders Supply who donated half of the costs and we are still looking for help from individuals or businesses to pay off the rest of the balance which is about $1, 200,” Hill told the Dispatch in an interview.

The project is called the Perpetual Wood Fund and Hill hopes it will go on into perpetuity, “People can stop by the Food Bank and talk with Linda Swarner about your need and she’ll open the shed for you. She has been a great help in working out the details on how the fund will operate and the construction design. We invite anyone to help keep the shed full as they clear trees or fallen wood from their property and just want to contribute some extra firewood to the fund to keep the shed full for those in need or for a stock pile for the community in the event of a natural disaster,” explained Hill. Sage said working toward becoming an eagle scout and doing something different from his peers has helped him become an adult, “I had a lot of encouragement from my dad who was a scout, but never became an eagle scout, not many scouts do, it’s something special and the project helped me learn more about my community and value that comes from contributing or giving back. I also had a lot of encouragement of Dr. Nels Anderson, our Scout Master. It’s a good feeling and now that it’s almost over and I see the shed we built full of wood, it feels even better. It was a big effort and took a lot of hours to build. My intention now is to keep it full even after I graduate from high school,” he said. Anyone interested in donating to the cause can make a tax deductible contribution to Troop # 151 or contact the Food Bank, “They can call me at 252-8547 and I’ll be glad to pick up the check,” said Hill.

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