The largest ever donation of peanut butter for Generous Hands (GHI) resulted in 612 jars containing 668 pounds donated by area scouting organizations.
It all started at a Cub Scout Pack 251 committee meeting when Tamara Young described a shortage of peanut butter for the GHI backpack program in the school system that sends food home with students on the weekends. She decided to challenge the Cub Scout Pack 251 and the Boy Scout Troop 251 to collect unopened peanut butter jars. The losing organization would fund a giant pizza party for both groups. Parchment Boy Scout Troop 218 got involved because they receive packs – and Colleen Borden, the sister of Vicksburg Scoutmaster Kevin Borden, is the scoutmaster of the Parchment troop.
Scouts collected jars from family members, co-workers, teachers, and anyone else willing to give. In total, the three scouting organizations collected over 612 jars for Generous Hands. Each jar has a value of about $2 when on sale, making the total contribution worth well over $1,200. According to Sheri Louis the executive director of GHI, it is the single largest single peanut butter jar donation in Generous Hands’ history.