March 29, 2024

Fighting fire with water

Creston Girl Scout collects over 500 cases of bottled water for Californians affected by ongoing wildfires

A Creston Girl Scout recently raised 528 cases of water to be donated to the Salvation Army for California wildfire relief.

“I have been a Girl Scout since I was in first grade,” said Fiebelkorn. “I have been doing the water drive for about three years.”`

With the assistance of her parents and the support of Dollar Fresh HyVee store director Chris Gordy, Fiebelkorn has collected hundreds of cases of water in her time as a Girl Scout.

“I do these drives for a purpose every year,” said Fiebelkorn. “This year we are doing it for the California wildfires to help them.”

Fiebelkorn likes to keep the causes she supports within the United States, having raised water for hurricane relief in 2017 and Iowa tornado relief in 2018. Last Friday, Fiebelkorn and her family braved the snowstorm to deliver the cases to the charity of choice.

“We give them to the Salvation Army,” said Fiebelkorn. “Then they get them to the people who need it most.”

The hardest thing when creating the idea for the water drive was keeping the idea limited to just water, said Fiebelkorn.

“Originally I had many ideas on what to do,” said Fiebelkorn. “I wanted to do a clothes drive, I wanted to do a food drive, I wanted to do a water drive. But then my mom said I should start off with just one. There was a lot of flooding and wildfires going on, so I thought a water drive would help them out.”

Fiebelkorn credits Girl Scouts for providing her with opportunities to provide assistance to those in need.

“I like doing Girl Scouts because they help you understand, as you grow up, what you are supposed to be doing,” said Fiebelkorn. “They teach you how to help people and how to survive outside in the wild.”

Despite her age, Fiebelkorn has firm beliefs when it comes to acts of kindness.

“When you have the chance you should help people out,” said Fiebelkorn. “When you’re growing up, you’re trying to be a better person, and starting at a younger age means you can work on it more as you get older. It works out perfect.”