Scout Troop 132 Completed a COVID Year of Service

If you looked out your window in the last few weeks, you might have seen a young person clearing a neighbor’s driveway or shoveling out a fire hydrant on your street. Many of these young people were scouts from Concord’s Scout Troop 132, as they worked to complete a remarkable year of service during the COVID-19 shutdown.
 
The Troop, under the leadership of Scoutmaster William Duggan and a cadre of adult volunteers, responded to the needs they saw in the community. They worked hard to implement annual activities like the Christmas Tree pickup, as well as needed activities that reflected the needs in our new COVID world (like making masks for healthcare workers). Most of these projects also supported other local social service organizations, often doubling their impact.

• It began last spring when Troop 132 partnered with Open Table on a food drive. The Scouts, neighbors, and friends collected and donated 1344 pounds of food to Open Table to improve food security in our area.
• Next, the Troop put together and donated over 1300 face shields to Shields of Hope; these shields were put to good use by front-line workers in our region at a time when they were desperately needed.
• The Troop also worked with Coats for Kids / Anton Cleaners to collect and donate nearly 30 coats, ensuring that kids in our community are a bit warmer this winter.

Even in this unusual year, the Troop managed to lead two annual events in partnership with Holy Family Parish in Concord: The Annual Turkey Truck ahead of Thanksgiving and the Annual Christmas Tree Pickup in January.

• At the Annual Turkey Truck, a Concord / Carlisle tradition, the Scouts collected and delivered over 330 turkeys for donation to Crossroads Family Center in Boston; and nearly $3000 in additional financial support was raised and donated to other local food programs. This was the Turkey Truck’s best year ever, which was especially gratifying given the need at this time.
• At the Annual Christmas Tree Pickup, Troop 132 Scouts and members of the Parish’s Youth Ministries (and loads of adult leaders), managed to follow Department of Health protocols and still collect well over 750 trees in one day, again making it the most successful Christmas Tree Pickup ever. This event is a fundraiser for the Troop and the Parish of course, but it is so much more. This year, it provided a well-needed service to our neighbors and our town. And working with the Town of Concord Compost Center, the trees collected have now been converted to mulch, which will no doubt feed all the gardens we expect to see around town this spring.

Troop 132 led other service projects this year, and also managed to do other scouting activities – hiking, orienteering, cooking (although little camping) – but it was these projects that truly connected the Troop to the greater Concord community. As Scoutmaster Duggan reminded the Troop, “scouts should be friendly, be cheerful, be helpful. Remember, there is always an opportunity to do a good turn.”
 
Troop 132 has definitely taken this to heart this year and has done its best to do a good turn for its Concord neighbors.

Written by Scout Leslie Flinn