St. Matthew's Garden of Eden Club receives a helping hand

Community service is an important part of the Scout Law, but it's also a lot of fun when it includes working in the woods on a bright sunny fall morning. Boy Scouts from Troop 496, Girl Scouts from Troop 40513 and their families did a morning of service helping adult volunteers from the congregation of St. Matthew Catholic Church in Schaumburg. The day was cool but the 25 busy workers kept warm as they cut down and cleared invasive trees and shrubs from the church grounds that boarder Spring Valley Nature Center.

This type of community service provides an opportunity to introduce youth and their families to churches and other non-profit organizations in our community. Ms. Vicky Mirshak, head of the Garden of Eden ministry for St. Matthew said, “The work completed by the scouts this morning would have taken our group over a month to do ourselves. It sure makes a difference with a lot of folks work together. We really appreciate their help.”

The 3 hours of community service helps scouts meet their advancement requirements as they move up in rank.

Participating scouts and parents were:

Ms. Sandy Kenkel – Elizabeth, Michael and Sarah – Girl Scout Troop 40513

Ms. Jyothi Madhavaram – Anivtha - Girl Scout Troop 40513

Ms. Barb Atkin – Hannah and David –Troop 496

Mr. Dennis and Cathi Bohm – Troop 496

Scout Mike Czerpak – Troop 496

Mr. Eric and Lynette Dippon – Jeremy and Jason – Troop 496

Mr. Steve Ignots

Mr. Ed and Terrie Poczatek

Ms. Lynn Chernick – Sam – Troop 496

Scout Charlie McGowan – Troop 496

Mr. Tom Walsh – Tommy – Troop 496

Project Coordinator: Mr. Wayne Oates – Troop 496