Sidnee Everhart of the Fork community and Girl Scout Troop 40148 earned her Girl Scout Gold Award on Nov. 11 and will officially graduate from the Girl Scout program in May.

The Gold is the highest honor in Girl Scouting, and uses service as a means with which to empower young women to become leaders, organizers, workers and pillars of improvement in their communities.

She earned her Gold after dedicating a little over a year towards the revitalizing of the Our Daily Bread Food Pantry at The Episcopal Church of the Ascension on Fork-Bixby Road. It was funded by donations, most of which were given at her scrap metal drive she held at the church. The money allowed her to paint the drywall and design an Our Daily Bread logo, which is now on a wall sticker at the pantry and is on a fleet of reusable bags given to patrons to prevent bread smooshing and keep the pantry’s contact information spread across the county.

Below the logo on the wall, she added another decal – of John 6:35.

The Scout also removed stored church items to open extra space for the pantry, and purchased rolling, wire shelves to replace worn wooden shelves. Her goal was to make the pantry more efficient and pleasant for volunteers and patrons.

Everhart credits members of the Fork Fire Department, Our Daily Bread volunteers, church members, district Scout officials, her family and others with making the project a success.

Our Daily Bread assists in Cooleemee and Cornatzer elementary schools’ food distribution. More than 1,000 people are fed from the pantry every month.

Everhart continues to volunteer at Our Daily Bread and encourages others to lend a helping hand in their communities.

She also encourages all former Boy and Girl Scouts to contemplate what it is to be a true Scout and take action on those thoughts to carry on the ideals of Scouting throughout their lives.