
Cramerton Girl Scout creates Caring Cupboards
By Alan Hodge
alan@cfmedia.info
Some people might think that Girl Scouts sell cookies once a year and sit around a campfire eating s’mores. Wrong! And in the case of Kathryn Cupp of Cramerton it’s very, very, wrong.
Cupp, 16, is a Stuart Cramer High senior who is a member of Scout Troop 20416 based at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Gastonia. She’s been in scouting since childhood and risen in the ranks from Daisy to her current status as an Ambassador.
Over the years, Cupp has done service projects that earned her a Bronze and Silver Award. When the time came to go for her Gold Award, she gave it some deep thought and came up with the concept of “Caring Cupboards” which are freestanding boxes filled with food and toiletries that folks can avail themselves of for free.
Cupp explained how she formulated the plan and carried it out.
“The pandemic led me to the idea of building coverings for nonperishable foods and other items people need,” she said. “I had a bake sale fundraiser and raised $1,400. I baked for twelve hours. Things like brownies and rice crispy treats and cookies. I advertised them on Instagram and Facebook and spent eight hours delivering them. It was a lot of hard work.”
Cupp took the money to local home improvement stores and bought the wood and other materials to build three Caring Cupboards. She did a lot of the sawing and hammering herself- with a bit of help.
“My dad has a background in carpentry and he helped,” she said. “I also had some help from my team mates Conner Griffin and Ronan Morano.”
After the cupboards were built, she put them up in three locations- Town Hall in Cramerton, First Presbyterian in Gastonia, and St. Mark’s Episcopal in Gastonia.
Next, Cupp stocked the cupboards.
“I took the money that was left over from buying the materials and bought things to fill them,” she said.
A peek inside the Cramerton cupboard revealed soup, ravioli, personal care items, bottled water, macaroni, and Vienna sausages.
People are welcome to give and receive via the cupboards.
“It’s take what you need and give what you can,” Cupp said.
The Caring Cupboards are proving to be a hit.
“The ones in Gastonia have been up for two weeks and have had to be filled twice a day,”she said.
The Cramerton one is new and should get plenty of action too.
“It’s gratifying to see the cupboards being utilized,” Cupp said.
Cupp’s mom, Leah, had this to say about the project.
“I’ve very impressed,” she said. “The pandemic took some things away that she enjoyed doing, but it also allowed her time to help people in the community.”
Cupp says he’s gotten a lot out of her Girl Scout years and says it’s a great thing to be a part of.
“I would encourage girls to get involved and get started on their own service projects,” she said.
alan@cfmedia.info
Some people might think that Girl Scouts sell cookies once a year and sit around a campfire eating s’mores. Wrong! And in the case of Kathryn Cupp of Cramerton it’s very, very, wrong.
Cupp, 16, is a Stuart Cramer High senior who is a member of Scout Troop 20416 based at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Gastonia. She’s been in scouting since childhood and risen in the ranks from Daisy to her current status as an Ambassador.
Over the years, Cupp has done service projects that earned her a Bronze and Silver Award. When the time came to go for her Gold Award, she gave it some deep thought and came up with the concept of “Caring Cupboards” which are freestanding boxes filled with food and toiletries that folks can avail themselves of for free.
Cupp explained how she formulated the plan and carried it out.
“The pandemic led me to the idea of building coverings for nonperishable foods and other items people need,” she said. “I had a bake sale fundraiser and raised $1,400. I baked for twelve hours. Things like brownies and rice crispy treats and cookies. I advertised them on Instagram and Facebook and spent eight hours delivering them. It was a lot of hard work.”
Cupp took the money to local home improvement stores and bought the wood and other materials to build three Caring Cupboards. She did a lot of the sawing and hammering herself- with a bit of help.
“My dad has a background in carpentry and he helped,” she said. “I also had some help from my team mates Conner Griffin and Ronan Morano.”
After the cupboards were built, she put them up in three locations- Town Hall in Cramerton, First Presbyterian in Gastonia, and St. Mark’s Episcopal in Gastonia.
Next, Cupp stocked the cupboards.
“I took the money that was left over from buying the materials and bought things to fill them,” she said.
A peek inside the Cramerton cupboard revealed soup, ravioli, personal care items, bottled water, macaroni, and Vienna sausages.
People are welcome to give and receive via the cupboards.
“It’s take what you need and give what you can,” Cupp said.
The Caring Cupboards are proving to be a hit.
“The ones in Gastonia have been up for two weeks and have had to be filled twice a day,”she said.
The Cramerton one is new and should get plenty of action too.
“It’s gratifying to see the cupboards being utilized,” Cupp said.
Cupp’s mom, Leah, had this to say about the project.
“I’ve very impressed,” she said. “The pandemic took some things away that she enjoyed doing, but it also allowed her time to help people in the community.”
Cupp says he’s gotten a lot out of her Girl Scout years and says it’s a great thing to be a part of.
“I would encourage girls to get involved and get started on their own service projects,” she said.