ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 14, 1996 TAG: 9610150059
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: extra credit
Name: Molly Mustard
Age: 18
School: Tazewell High School
Year: Senior
What she does: When Molly was 14, she went on a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., where she helped out in a soup kitchen. She and five others were so inspired, they wanted to do something in their own town.
There was no food pantry in Tazewell. ``So we decided to open our own,'' she said. A Child Shall Lead Them was born.
The others involved were Beth Newlon, Heather Gordon, Matt Brown, Erin Gibson and D.J. Swimm.
``The community gave us overwhelming support. We gave promotional speeches to churches and civic groups and went to the board of supervisors to ask for the use of an empty building on Main Street.'' The board charges the group a small rental fee.
A Child Shall Lead Them is available to anyone who has a referral from a social service or other care organization and now includes a clothes closet and garden where volunteers grow food on donated land.
The center is open every weekday and serves 1,000 people a month. Thirty-five churches are now involved, as well as several adult volunteers.
Molly was the treasurer for two years, ``but it grew so much, we needed professional help, and a retired banker volunteered to serve as treasurer.'' She was on the board for four years.
A Child Shall Lead Them has received a state award from the Appalachian Food Bank as the best new agency.
``Molly is a really good example to others,'' said Carol Swimm, one of the adults who helped with the project from the beginning. ``She's able to keep up with what she says she's going to do and can find something amusing about everything. She's got a future that's very bright, and I think she'll make Tazewell proud of her.''
``Molly has a way about her that indicates that one of the things she wants to do is make sure people who are less fortunate than she get what they need,'' said Sandra Tucker-Maxwell, who nominated Molly. ``Molly has always been a worker as far as volunteering in her church and, when she lived in Roanoke, helped me with handicapped adults. That showed me she had the maturity to be a real leader.''
School activities: Molly is a member of the Beta Club, Interact, the Thespian Society and the cheerleading squad.
Other activities: She serves as a youth lay leader in her church, is a member of Inter-Church Youth group and is a student intern at the Historic Crab Orchard Museum.
What she's learned: ``The biggest thing I get out of this [A Child Shall Lead Them] is that it helps me realize just how lucky I am. It's hard for me to feel sorry for myself when I'm feeding people who aren't sure where their next meal is coming from.''
I would like people to think of me as ``passionate about what I do. I don't do things halfway or leave things halfway done.''
In my free time I like to ...: ``rock climb, rappel and hike. I also love to write.''
What I'd like to change about the world: ``I would like to make the world more tolerant. So many people aren't tolerant of other people's beliefs.''
Most important issue facing teen-agers today: ``I think the biggest problem facing us now is we don't know where to go. We need to find more direction in our lives. We need to find ourselves. There are too many distractions happening around us.''
The toughest lesson I've learned so far is ``that not all people are good. You have to go ahead and trust anyway.''
People I most admire: ``My parents. They have made such a wonderful example for me. I`ve seen how hard it is and how wonderful it is to be in a marriage that is loving. Because of them, I will never settle for anything less.
Best advice I've received is ``don't stress. If it`s not going to matter in five years, it's not worth your time and energy.''
Plans: ``I want to go into communications and be either a journalist or do corporate communications. I love to write, so that has to be part of my job.''
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Family photo. Molly Mustard of Tazewell plans a careerby CNBin journalism or corporate communications. color.