Livingston Scout Troop Launches Ambitious Service Project

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of Ishaan Reddy / Livingston’s Boy Scouts Troop 12. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

For nearly a century, Livingston’s Boy Scouts Troop 12 has helped serve the community and shape young leaders. To honor the troop's centennial anniversary and reaffirm the troop’s belief that scouting is not only about outdoor skills and leadership but also about compassion, civic responsibility, and giving back to neighbors in need, troop members decided to launch the troop's most ambitious project yet Troop 12 Cares in 2025.

Since its founding in 1926, Troop 12 has stood out in the Livingston community. Scouts regularly initiated service projects to help local residents such as shoveling snow for seniors, supporting town ceremonies, assisting community events, and volunteered at local service projects, all while continuing the core traditions of scouting such as monthly camping trips, hiking, and earning merit badges in topics ranging from computer science to woodworking. A key element of Troop 12 is that it remains “scout-led,” which means that all decisions, planning, and execution related to scouting are made by the scouts themselves, while adults guide and mentor from the sidelines.

Carrying forward this tradition of meaningful service, on December 20, 2025, Troop 12 organized its first Troop 12 Cares project, one of their biggest undertakings to date, an effort to prepare and deliver over 50 warm meals (each one feeding 5-6 people) to families in Livingston. For this project, Troop 12 partnered with Livingston Neighbors helping Neighbors.

To accomplish this feat, Troop 12 knew it needed a space and tools that could accommodate the undertaking. To that end, the Troop were graciously supported by parishioners of Ss. Nicholas, Constantine, & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Roseland, NJ, through the use of their commercial kitchen facilities to prepare the meals.

After weeks of planning, shopping, and prepping, the project commenced on December 20th. Nearly 40 scouts, alumni, and parent volunteers participated in the project. Starting at 8 am, scouts worked tirelessly throughout the day in coordinated stations. They prepped the ingredients, cooked, labeled trays with instructions, and ensured that the kitchen was spotless afterward. Thanks to the troop’s teamwork and planning, the project was a huge success, with the troop exceeding its goal, by completing 63 trays of warm, nourishing food for Livingston families.

The launch of Troop 12 Cares represents both a continuation of Troop 12’s long tradition of service and a meaningful start to its next century. Troop 12’s current Senior Patrol Leader, Pranav Mukkavilli, said in a statement, “Seeing everyone take responsibility, support one another, and work towards a shared goal reminded me of what Scouting is about. I’m extremely proud of what our troop accomplished, and as SPL, I hope to build on this experience by continuing projects like this, or even grander ones, that strengthen our troop while making a real difference in our community.”

With the success of this project, the scout leaders plan to make this initiative into an annual service project, and to continue undertaking projects under the Troop 12 Cares banner, expanding opportunities to serve the community in new and impactful ways.

As Troop 12 approaches its 100-year milestone, the spirit of scouting - leadership, service, and community remains strong. With initiatives like Troop 12 Cares, today’s scouts are not only honoring the troop’s history, but also continuing to build on the foundation for the next hundred years of service in Livingston.

For more information about joining or supporting Troop 12, visit https://www.troop12livingstonnj.org, or reach out to the new member coordinator Shivani Baijal at shivanivbaijal@gmail.com

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