Boy Scout Raises and Delivers More Than 1,000 Gifts for Chilton Hospital’s Pediatric Department

The Eagle Scout Service Project is the opportunity for a Boy Scout to demonstrate leadership while benefitting his community. Andrew Carlson of Troop 777 demonstrated true leadership by organizing a gift drive for his Service Project.

The 17-year-old Pompton Plains resident delivered a total of 1,164 gifts to Chilton Hospital’s Pediatric Department. Items included puzzle books, coloring books, Crayons, games, sippy cups, children’s eating utensils, crib toys and other gifts suggested by the Pediatric nursing staff.

In addition, Carlson’s Service Project raised $600 from the community for the Pediatric Department. The money will be used to purchase additional gifts for the department. He promoted the event through flyers distributed to the community members’ homes, as well as Trinity Baptist Church in Montville and the Calvary Co-op, a Christian homeschool organization based in Newfoundland. Carlson, a sophomore, receives his education at home and in Calvary Co-op. His father, Bart, is pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, the charter organization for the troop. 

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable from the Boy Scouts of America. Carlson can achieve Eagle Scout status upon completion of the Service Project, plus two more merit badges.

“What originally motivated me to do this project was fulfilling the Boy Scouts’ requirements,” Carlson said. “However, when I witnessed the excitement from the Pediatric Department, my main motivation to do this service was to exceed their expectations as well as my goals. I learned a great deal from this experience, especially planning, organizing and leadership. It was a challenge to put all the ‘pieces of the puzzle’ together, but it was truly rewarding in the end.”

Carlson received help delivering gifts to Chilton from his parents, Bart and Karen. They were joined by fellow scouts Kyle, Scott and Todd Genberg of Riverdale, as well as their mother, Rebecca, and sister, Savannah.

“The donations will surely enhance the hospital experience for our youngest patients,” said Nurse Manager of Chilton Hospital’s MotherBaby Center Diana Luciani, RNC-OB. “We are very proud of Andrew for his compassion and leadership qualities, and we’re also grateful to have so many caring, generous individuals in our community.”

Chilton Hospital is a fully accredited, 260-bed, acute-care, community hospital. It is the first hospital in New Jersey to received Pathway to Excellence designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Chilton recently embarked on a $24 million modernization project, which includes the Cardiovascular Interventional Lab, The Breast Center and the Total Joint Center. It is also a four-time recipient of the HealthGrades Specialty Excellence Award in Stroke, and Five-Star Rated for Stroke Care, the highest possible, for six years in a row. In addition, Chilton is also Five-Star Rated for Joint Replacement and Total Knee Replacement for 2012. Chilton’s many services include a state-of-the-art Emergency Department, the Sleep Health Institute, the Comprehensive Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center, the Chilton Cancer Center, the MotherBaby Center a weight loss surgery program and minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgery. The hospital is located at 97 West Parkway in Pompton Plains, NJ 07444. For more information about Chilton's facilities and services, or to find a doctor by name, specialty, or location, please visit www.chiltonhealth.org or call 1-888-CHILTON.