By Sandra Mathias, Special to Faith and Values

About a year ago, 17-year-old Hayden Asquith, an aspiring Eagle Scout, began learning about carpentry, power tools, missions and the tenacity it takes to build something that lasts.

Asquith, who has been in scouting for over 13 years, has climbed through the ranks as a Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, Boy Scout, Tenderfoot, Tenderfoot 2nd class, Tenderfoot 1st Class, Star, Life and will soon be an Eagle Scout.

According to Asquith, only about 3 percent of scouts achieve this highest rank.

His group, Troop 270, meets at their host church, Germantown Presbyterian.

In his quest to become an Eagle, Asquith searched for a project that would help his community. He had become acquainted with a Downtown mission that includes a food pantry and clothes closet called FirstWorks, near Calvary Episcopal Church, at 82 N. Second St.

During a tour of the mission's facilities, which distributes nonperishable food and gently used clothing to those in need, Asquith asked the FirstWorks executive director, Rev. Birgitte T. French ("Pastor Bee") if there was anything he could do to help.

"Yes, we need more efficient shelving in our Food Pantry so we can store more food here in the building," Pastor Bee said. FirstWorks serves more than 4,000 hungry clients per year from the food pantry.

So Asquith went to work designing new wooden shelving units for the FirstWorks food pantry.

After taking measurements, he visited Lowe's and Home Depot to obtain donated building materials such as wood, hinges and wood stain.

Setting up shop in his family's garage, he spent almost a year completing this ambitious project.

Once completed, Asquith, his father and other scouts from Troop 270 helped him trailer the new shelves Downtown to be installed.

As a result of Asquith's careful planning and carpentry, the sturdy new shelves fit perfectly. To add a professional touch, he stained the shelves a beautiful reddish brown color.

And for efficiency, the shelves are a mixture of stationary and adjustable units making it easier for staff, volunteers, and clients to "shop" at the food pantry.

On the day of installation, Pastor Bee exclaimed, "Wow! Our food pantry can hold so much more food for our clients now. What an improvement. We are so grateful that we were the recipient of this future Eagle Scout's project."

When asked what life lessons he has obtained from this shelving project and his many years of scouting, Asquith said, "A lot of strength, outdoor skills, leadership -- and many merit badges."

Asquith is enrolled in Germantown High School's International Baccalaureate program to gain college credit while still in high school. With this specialized education, he can apply to international colleges when he graduates.

Sandra Mathias is a FirstWorks board member.