Huntley Hammer may be only 13 years old, but he's already made a difference in his community. Huntley, a member of Boy Scout Troop 162, recently completed his Eagle Scout project by creating first aid kits to distribute at the East Donegal-Conoy Christian Food Bank.

"We put together 200 kits," Huntley said. "I had help from my teachers, my family and my friends."

The kits include a wide variety of essentials, such as bandages, gauze, tape, scissors, tweezers, antibiotic ointment, sting relief, ice packs, gloves, cotton balls and Q-tips.

They will be distributed to clients of the food bank, located at the intersection of Coffee Goss Road and Peach Street in Maytown. Additionally, Huntley collected almost $1,000 in donations for the food bank.

Huntley said he knew he wanted to earn his Eagle, the highest award in Boy Scouts, but he was stumped on a project.

"I was looking online for ideas, but I didn't find anything I liked," he recalled. "I didn't want to build something, because I'm young and I really don't know how to build stuff. When I thought of the first aid kits, I realized I could still help people a lot with them."

Huntley had visited the food pantry before, delivering donations from the Scouting for Food drive, so he thought the location would be a perfect spot to distribute the kits.

"I didn't buy anything for kits. Everything was donated," he said. "Someone also donated all the bags. I went out to local businesses, and I asked for donations. I also put a sheet up at the post office near me, saying what I needed."

Huntley, the son of Steve and Dori Hammer of Bainbridge, began working on the project about a year ago. He and his team assembled the kits in early October.

Huntley joined Cub Scouts in first grade, and he set a goal early on of earning his Eagle Scout Award.

"When I was growing up in our troop, they were telling me to slow down, and that just motivated me more to keep going and go even faster," he said with a smile. "I really wanted to do this."

An eighth-grader at Elizabethtown Area Middle School, Huntley enjoys playing video games in his free time, and he loves Boy Scouts.

"It's a great program for kids and teenagers because it gives them something productive to do, and it also helps people," he said. "It's fun, and you get to hang out with friends and explore the wilderness."

Pat Vogel, president of the East Donegal-Conoy Christian Food Bank, said she was impressed with Huntley's determination to help.

"I was amazed at how much he accomplished, especially because he's so young," she said. "The kits were a need we hadn't filled before, and I know people will appreciate them."

The monetary donation from Huntley's efforts will make a big difference as well, she noted, adding, "Our supplies are running low, so this really helps."

The East Donegal-Conoy Christian Food Bank is open on Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Vogel at 717-426-2360.