Warren teenager recognized for community service

WARREN — Dylan Soucy, 17, is preparing for his senior year at Cousino High School. He likes books and working with his hands. He likes building Legos and playing card games.

Several years ago, he built a Little Free Library in his front yard containing books, puzzles and school supplies. More recently, he constructed a “blessings box” food pantry and a pet pantry.

“We had a lot of spare stuff, and we figured if we can help people out during the pandemic, like if they can’t afford to get their own food or pet supplies, we may as well help them out,” he said.

The boxes were originally built to help people who might have been struggling during the pandemic or due to inflation. The pet pantry, Soucy said, is emptied out almost every night.

Soucy and his family ask that when people drop items off at their house on Coolidge Avenue in Warren, they leave them on the porch. This helps to prevent other items from being damaged, and it gives Soucy and his family an opportunity to inspect items to make sure they haven’t expired.

In July, Soucy was honored with a certificate of appreciation for his community service by Warren Mayor Jim Fouts.

“His heart is in the right direction, and his mind (is) clearly focused on doing good for the community,” Fouts said.

“I’m impressed with his unselfish attitude and his commitment to help out people within the community,” he added.

In addition to a certificate, Fouts also gave Soucy a $100 gift card to Lowe’s, which Soucy said he plans to use to buy lumber to build a roof over the pantries so people can use them in bad weather.

Fouts has also set several boxes out in City Hall for residents to be able to donate goods that will be taken to Soucy’s pantries.

“We have places where Warren residents can come to City Hall, and they can drop off canned goods, they can drop off things for pets and they can drop off a whole host of things,” he said.

Dylan Soucy’s mother, Kris Soucy, said she was proud of her son.

“He didn’t do this for the attention. He didn’t do this to earn awards,” she said. “He just did it because he has such a big heart and he just wanted to help people out, especially people who are truly in need and need these items to get by.”

Dylan and his mother both shared the sentiment that they couldn’t keep the project going without the people who are making donations.

“We couldn’t afford to do it without these people. We couldn’t keep restocking all these by ourselves,” Kris Soucy said.