Courtney Rush may be a little shy when it comes to talking about her accomplishments, but she is unreserved when it comes to her love of helping others.

        Initially, the Marlborough Elementary School fifth-grader heard about The Open Link and its mission to serve people in need in the greater Upper Perkiomen Valley this Christmas.  Through their Angel Tag program, she purchased a gift for an 11-year-old girl with her own money.

        That experience piqued her interest in the Pennsburg human services organization.  So after finding out volunteers need to be at least 16 years old, she decided to start her very own toothpaste drive instead.

        The Open Link Food Pantry Coordinator Monica Oswald said personal care supplies are sorely needed.

        "The only things we have that are personal items are over here," Oswald said, pointing to a small shelving display inside The Open Link's pantry Monday morning.  "Body wash, shampoo, toothpaste…It's all kind of important because when people think food pantry they think food, they don't always think personal items.  Even laundry soap, we get so little of it. Green beans are important, but toothpaste, body wash, soap, those kinds of things are important and people don't always think of them when they think food pantry."  

        After creating colorful flyers and handing them out and posting them, Rush collected toothpaste and toothbrushes from Feb. 29 through March 11.  While her goal was 100 tubes of toothpaste, she nearly doubled it and ended up with 171, and received 60 toothbrushes to go along with them.

        She credited teachers at Marlborough with drumming up the majority of donations, but also received products from Community Bible Fellowship Church and Red Hill Christian School in Red Hill, Upper Perk Family Dental in Pennsburg, and family and friends.

        "It made me really, really proud of myself," Rush said of surpassing her goal.  "I want to do something like this again."

        Her desire to help others is constantly on display at home, her mother, Melissa Rush said, and Courtney Rush made sure to tell her mom she also has her sights set on cleaning up litter in her neighborhood. 

         "I know this one place where there's a lot of trash that needs to be cleaned up," she explained.

        "It's good," said Melissa Rush of her daughter's efforts.  "It's funny because I hadn't even mentioned being here.  I volunteered here in the food pantry during my senior year for community service.  Courtney always wants to help everybody and anybody.  I'm very proud of her."