Scouts join in West Chicago's downtown beautification efforts
West Chicago, Illinois: May 16, 2012 – If you want something done, ask a Scout troop. That's what the West Chicago Blooming Fest committee found when the subject of spring planting and downtown beautification came up at a recent meeting.
Representatives of West Chicago Girl Scout Troop 50386, and West Chicago Boy Scout Troop 33 sponsored by Glen Arbor Community Church, joined the committee as a result of connecting with organizers of the annual downtown garden festival with a request to hold a pancake breakfast the morning of the festival as a way to raise funds for new camping equipment.
The leaders, Rita Butler and Duane Gill, wanted to become more involved with the committee and the community by offering assistance where needed.
Service is a big part of the scouting tradition and when the subject of preparing the downtown aesthetically for the thousands of people that visit the day of the festival, as well as for locals that frequent the downtown on a regular basis, the offer to help was a “no brainer”. Butler and Gill jumped in with both sets of feet, volunteering their troops and enlisting additional parents to help supervise. Approximately 22 flats of colorful impatiens will be planted in various Main Street beds between West Washington Street and the Fox Community Center on Friday, and a sidewalk chalk art project scheduled for Thursday will brighten the walkways throughout the downtown in time for Blooming Fest, which is held Saturday, May 19, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Those wishing to support the Boy Scout Pancake Breakfast should visit the American Legion, 123 Main Street, between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. for a piping hot stack of pancakes, eggs, sausage, coffee, milk and orange juice. The cost is $6 per person, with no charge for children under the age of three.
Acting Mayor Ruben Pineda, who will assist the Boy Scouts in raising the flag at the American Legion at 7:30 a.m. that morning, praised the community service of the youngsters and leaders, “We are happy that our youth are connecting with our community in this way and encourage future opportunities for doing so. They are the future of West Chicago.”