- Anthony Sciola, 16 of Griswold and Life Scout Senior Patrol Leader of Troop 20, puts in hours of community service on the Landa Project and other community tasks as he works up to the highest rank of Eagle Scout.
story & photo
by Maren Schober
Coming up through the ranks of Boy Scouting, Anthony Sciola, 16, of Griswold is in the final stretch as he reaches for the highest rank of Eagle Scout. Anthony is a Life Scout which is one rank away from Eagle Scout. To pass from one rank to another requires Anthony to put in hours of community service, something he loves to do.
“I first started doing volunteer work in the community when I was in the Enrichment Program at Griswold Middle School,” Anthony tells me.
“A group of about ten of us worked on roadside clean up as a community service project. I found that it was fun to help clean up my community with my friends, and I learned work is not hard when you do it with others. It feels good to see the difference we can make and how much nicer the roads look after the job is done. I also liked this clean up work because I got off from school that day!”
Anthony’s Scoutmaster, Bruce Sullivan, is proud and happy to have Anthony in Troop 20.
“Anthony is presently the Senior Patrol Leader of Boy Scout Troop 20 in Jewett City,” Bruce explains.
“This means he is the Senior youth leader of the entire troop. The Scouts report to him and Anthony leads the troop meetings and camp-outs. I see him grow and mature as a leader and I observe the development of his leadership skills. I know Anthony will be a better person for taking this responsibility.”
The big project that Anthony is now working on is the “Landa Project.” “The Landas are a family in our town that need help since their house burned down,” Anthony shares. “The whole community is coming together to help them by raising funds to build them a new house. I help out at yard sales and car washes to raise money for the project.”
Anthony also helps other scouts on their Eagle Scout projects. “I recently helped finger print children for their safety and worked on the winter preparation of Camp Laurel Girl Scout Camp. For this project we worked with United Way and the Rose City Chapter of Business Networking International (BNI) at their Day of Caring at Camp Laurel.”
Anthony’s enthusiasm for volunteer community work is inspiring. “Large tasks are very easy when there are many people helping and they all work as a team,” Anthony remarks. “I am proud to be helping the Landa Family. It feels good to directly help a family in need get back on their feet and give them a better life.”
Anthony’s involvement in his community is inspiring. We owe young people like him our appreciation and thanks.
