Overview
At the 2013 National Scout Jamboree, Scouts were scheduled to participate in a new program activity called Messengers of Peace Day of Service (MOPDOS). The Day of Service is an opportunity for Scouts to make a meaningful impact on the lives of residents in the nine counties that surround the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virginia, and for those communities to make an impact on Scouts.
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About 160 troops were scheduled to participate in each of the five days of service. In 1920, 8,000 Scouts from 34 countries came together for the first world jamboree. At the closing ceremony, Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell called on participants to carry the spirit of the jamboree home “so that we may help to develop peace and happiness in the world and goodwill among all Scouts.” Scouts of the world have been answering that call for more than 90 years. Today, Scouts in dozens of countries are working for peace by solving conflicts in their schools, building links between divided communities, teaching their peers about health and wellness, and repairing environmental damage. To recognize their efforts—and to inspire more young men and women to help Scouting create a better world—the Boy Scouts of America joined the Messengers of Peace initiative in 2012.
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Day of Service Community Projects
The Day of Service team has joined with the West Virginia Citizens Conservation Corps (WVCCC) to identify nearly 350 projects in various communities near the Summit. While some projects can be completed in one day, others will require multiple days of service to complete. Scouts were scheduled to travel to the nine counties surrounding the Summit and experience diverse geography, including:
- McDowell, Wyoming, and Mercer counties in the heart of Appalachian coal country
- Monroe, Greenbrier, and Summers counties, all agriculture-rich areas
- Fayette, Raleigh, and Nicholas counties, close to the jamboree site
Projects included painting structures, brush removal and trail work in parks, working in the national park adjacent to the jamboree site, landscaping, stone wall repair, and restoration of a small mine community and mine office that now serves as a museum.
Troop B410 Assignment
After successfully navigating the bus loading queue and coming to the top of the stairs at the rear of the stadium, Troop B410 was randomly assigned to a Fayette County Schools yellow school bus. The Scouts initially expressed displeasure at the assignment to the “yellow school bus”, since all of the busses as far as the eye could see, were long-distance air-conditioned motor coaches. They were reassured that their perspective would soon change as I handed one of the Assistant Scoutmasters a handful of motion sickness bags (barf bags) for the ride along the narrow winding county roads. Once we were on US Highway 19, the Scouts were introduced to 40/50 air-conditioning (40 windows open at 50 mph) which was very refreshing as the sweat-soaked tee-shirts were drying in the refreshing breeze.
We soon joined-up with our contact for the “NIC-25” project, Rotha Young, Mount Nebo Elementary School principal and Susie Berg, a PTA-engaged mom who has several children enrolled at the elementary school. We were given a tour of the school property and the desired projects which included removal of gravel from certain play areas with addition of top soil and reseeding of grass, relocation of the gravel to other more appropriate landscape uses, painting of playground equipment, repair of a sign, mounting of a banner, staining a picnic bench, planting of butterfly bushes and flowers and plants. The senior patrol leaders quickly divided the projects amongst the four patrols and assigned the projects in a manner consistent with the skills and abilities of the patrol members.
The weather was hot and humid and the Scouts needed frequent hydration breaks and were able to cool themselves in the air-conditioned cafeteria. During one of those hydration breaks we were joined by Scott Berg, the West Virginia State Director for Young Life, an organization collaborating with the WVCCC to enable the MOPDOS projects. Mr. Berg provided the Scouts with perspective on the importance of their volunteer effort to the West Virginia community with specific emphasis upon Nicholas County and provided the Scouts with stickers which would bring them to the following web address for more information: vimeo.com/channels/nicholascountyintiative
The Scouts were also visited by a reporter from the Summersville TV public access channel. The Scouts were so impressed that someone was interested in their activities, that they eagerly offered the reporter a rendition of their patrol cheer.
In recognition of the Scouts efforts and as a diversion from the daily camp menu, they were treated with a special delivery of a variety of 17 pizza pies from Pies and Pints in Fayetteville, WV that were enjoyed under the shade of the trees in the playground. (The lunch was funded by the adult Scout leaders.) I strongly recommend stopping by Pies and Pints if you find yourself even remotely in the Fayetteville area. The novel variety of creative killer recipes really makes the pies stand out and surpass many of the pizzas in our local NJ area. In my opinion, the pies are worth at least a one-hour travel diversion and the view of the New River Gorge from the US highway is a great inspirational dessert.
After completing all tasks that were possible with the allocated supplies, the Scouts returned to camp to prepare their garden salad, tortellini and meatball dinner and oatmeal crème pies desert. The dinner was an extra special dinner for two reasons: 1. the Scout that was sent to the hospital the night before was repatriated with the Troop in excellent condition and spirits, and 2. one of the scouts celebrated his birthday by sharing a special delivery of fudge and cookies.
The evening Troop meeting was accentuated by reading the following e-mail while reflecting upon the Troop’s Messengers of Peace Day of Service:
Dear Troop B410:
"Thanks" just doesn't seem to be enough for all that you and your boy scouts did for our school!! We are so grateful and were very impressed with your troop. They are a remarkable group of young men, very mature, well-mannered, disciplined and hard-working!
My daughter remarked as we were leaving how great the school looked and that she couldn't believe that you all were able to get that much work done in one day! She is 11 years old and I know many other kids will notice the changes just like she did. Thanks again...your service to the community really matters!!
P.S. thanks also for the pizza, that was a nice treat!
Hope the rest of your time here in WV is great!!
Take care,
