News

Girl Scout installs Little Free Library in church garden

Kathryn Thomas, a Girl Scout and HHS student, installed a Little Free Library in the Rooted in Faith Garden.

By Lightning Reports, Published: March 18, 2019

Rooted in Faith, a donation vegetable garden and ministry of First United Methodist Church, is on the receiving end of a donation from a local Girl Scout.

Kathryn Thomas, 16, designed, constructed and installed a Little Free Library in the FUMC garden for children living in the church’s adjacent Fifth Avenue Apartments.

Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world. Kathryn’s endeavor is part of her Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouts, and comparable to the Eagle Scout level.

On March 10 family, friends, church members and fellow Girl Scouts joined Kathryn in the Rooted in Faith garden to unveil and dedicate the Little Free Library.

Last fall, Kathryn formed the nonpartisan Global Lens Club at Hendersonville High School to increase awareness of global issues such as poverty, world hunger and gender equality.

The Little Free Library is a local outreach which “sits at the intersection of education and poverty to help break the cycle," she said. "It will provide the opportunity for children to access tons of books to find out more about what they love.”

Indeed, dozens of books have already been donated to Kathryn’s Little Free Library. The Girl Scouts of Hendersonville contributed 233 books at their World Thinking Day, and the Global Lens Club continues to gather books to keep the library well stocked. Because project sustainability is important to Kathryn, the FUMC Children’s Sunday School will continue this effort with book drives after Kathryn graduates and moves forward to a very bright future.