Girl Scout Troop 4444 rallied Kewanee in a powerful show of community spirit during a whirlwind, 48-hour service project. Abandoning their anniversary party plans, the Scouts launched the One Hour Power Hunt, aiming to collect 1,000 food items for the Kewanee Food Pantry. Neighbors responded generously: 76 families contributed, and drivers navigated house after house—sometimes without cell service—gathering donations despite rainy weather. In total, 2,104 items were collected, more than DOUBLE the original goal! This effort provided vital support for local families and delivered a memorable lesson in teamwork and compassion.
Girl Scout Troop 4444 of Kewanee transformed its anniversary into an extraordinary act of service, collecting 2,104 food items for the Kewanee Food Pantry in just 48 hours. With support from 76 families, the troop more than doubled its original goal of 1,000 items. Scouts braved rainy weather and even a cell service outage, coordinated pickups from 50 homes, and smartly spent $705 in donations at local stores. Volunteers, community members, and quick thinking ensured every detail came together. Troop 4444’s efforts demonstrate the remarkable impact of teamwork and community spirit, making a meaningful difference for local families in need.
Jacque Komnick said, “Our goal was to collect 1000 items in less than one hour for the Kewanee Food Pantry. Part of me wanted to be greedy and set our goal for 1100 as this was our 11th Anniversary as Troop family, but decided that I would be best not to push our luck and to set a goal that would be a bit of a challenge, but one we could achieve if we worked together as a team.”
A group of dedicated Scouts and six volunteer drivers fanned out across Kewanee tonight, visiting exactly 50 homes between 5 and 7 PM. Eight Scouts, with drivers Chelsea Lee, Diana DeSmit, Ann Massens, Mike Komnick, Ivan Ruiz-Sanchez, and Jacque Komnick, worked together to gather food and monetary donations for the local food pantry. After pickups, teams headed to Save A Lot and Aldi to maximize their purchases using the collected funds. Community generosity shone through, totaling $705 from 26 families, which included $480 through Venmo, $180 in checks, and $45 in cash.
“The Scouts and volunteers did a very good job making sure that every penny was spent wisely. You can see by our receipts that we spent $705.19!!!! We would have gone a bit more over budget, but as it turns out one of our Troop 4444 supporters was in line behind us and she offered to purchase one of our flats of spaghetti sauce to donate! Her purchase helped ensure that we kept to our budget, almost down to the penny!”
After gathering supplies from Aldi and Save A Lot, the group met Lisa Janey at the Kewanee Food Pantry to unload and stack an impressive number of donations. Six vehicles barely contained the outpouring of support, as wave after wave of Scouts and helpers brought in bags of cans and boxes. The group paused for a quick photo before getting back to work, celebrating the overwhelming generosity shown by the community—and the real impact these efforts will have on local families in need.
“Before I get to our final numbers I want to give a shout out to our Scouts and drivers! As we were all leaving my house, we all lost cell service. Mind you, we had our routes mapped out in advance in google maps, spreadsheets with info in Google Drive, group chats on FB so the vehicles could communicate with one another, screen shots of everything sent to our drivers….. and then we ALL lost cell service. Thankfully a Scout is always prepared, and those screen shots with the info came in handy. We were able to make our way to all of the houses, find one another, and make things happen despite technology failing us! No one panicked, everyone did their thing, and we all worked together to make it happen, despite the fact that we had a major wrench thrown into our plan!!!! I am so thankful that despite the technology glitch and the rainy weather, everything fell into place!”
Support for the Kewanee Food Pantry continues, as community members are encouraged to bring donations to three local businesses. Contributions can be dropped off with Jennifer Clapp McFarland at Crude Honey Hair Co., Crystal Lewis Martin at The Curl Studio, or Amber Patch-Troxell at Farmer’s Insurance. Organizers highlight the ongoing need for non-perishable food items, emphasizing that every donation helps families facing food insecurity. Those who missed the recent drive still have the opportunity to make a difference by visiting any of these locations. Donations remain vital to keep pantry shelves stocked and support neighbors in need throughout Kewanee.
A breakdown of the Girl Scout Troop 4444’s 48-hour service project:
- 76 families from our community helped ensure our success. We visited 50 homes and received monetary donations from 26 families.
- $705.00 worth of monetary donations came in, all of which was spent at Aldi and Save-A-Lot.
- We had 229 items dropped off at the Komnick home before the hunt.
- Between the hours of 5 and 6 PM, Chayse Sturtevant, Hayden Lindstrom, Avalyn Hughes, and Cosette Komnick picked up a total of 407 items!
- Between the hours of 6 and 7 PM, Avalyn, Sophia Weber, Hayden, Katelyn DeSmit, Cosette, Addison Looney, Chayse, and Audrey Massens picked up 775 items.
- At 7 PM, Nora Yaklich joined our other Scouts after her band concert! While we were shopping, 300 items were purchased from Save A Lot, and 393 were purchased from Aldi!
- When you add this all together, you get a total of 2,104 items. From an event planned in 48 hours.