May 27, 2004

Boy Scout troop collects nearly 300 books for low-income children
Service project unveiled at chili cook off at Los Gatos Christian Church

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

Children from homes and preschools that support literacy development with an abundance of books have a better chance of becoming good readers.

Experts also say that the quality of a child-care program is an important determinant on language and pre-literacy skills in preschool-age children; and they have documented the value of books in such programs, particularly in
low-income areas.

That’s why the San Jose Boy Scout Troop 557 participated last week in a literacy-based service project collecting nearly 300 books for children enrolled in state-funded preschool programs housed in many San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) elementary schools serving low-income families in the downtown area.

“It’s wonderful to be the beneficiary of the books,” said SJUSD Early Education Department administrator Patsy Storie. “We’re thrilled with the outcome.”

Although about 500 children are enrolled in state preschools run by the district, Storie said, “We’re going to need to figure out how we can equitably make sure that all the children get a book by filling in the gap or how we can make sure the families have access to them. I haven’t quite figured out how to divide 300 into 500 little hands yet.”

Scoutmaster LeRoy Hickel was thrilled that his troop’s Court of Honor—a biannual event recognizing the scouts’ work and rank advancement—allowed the boys the opportunity to be involved in such a worthwhile effort with family and friends at a dinner at the Los Gatos Christian Church last Saturday evening.

“Initially three dads said we would do this, but it mushroomed from there,” Hickel said. “We hope this becomes an annual event.”

The 49-year-old father of two, who lives in Blossom Valley, said the idea for the “Cook for Books Chili Cook Off” Court of Honor dinner was discussed during a parent committee meeting. As a troop, the boys have also been involved in other service projects such as serving meals at the Emergency Housing Consortium. “One of the things that scouts promise in their oath is to help other people at all times and service projects are a way of doing that,” he said.

Hickel explained nine parents cooked the chili judged by the scouts wearing their traditional uniform of khaki short sleeve shirts and green trousers with their neck scarves neatly tied in the front.

About 50 people gathered inside the church’s fellowship hall to eat the delicious dinner of chili, corn bread, salad and several desserts. Under each pot of chili the scouts placed boxes where votes could be cast with the books collected.

Hickel thanked Almaden resident Paula Furniss, whose 17-year-old son Nathaniel is in the troop, for coordinating the effort.

The Almaden Country School teacher learned about the service project from her sister who was visiting from Illinois. She said the idea came up while they were brainstorming service projects the troop could be involved in outside of holiday service projects. “We’re both big promoters of literacy,” said Furniss. “We wanted to have a literacy-based community service project.

“There are 500 preschoolers from low-income families in the district whose families often times don’t have the resources to buy extra books for their children as most of us do,” she said. “Each child at one of the 11 preschools housed in the SJUSD elementary will get their own book to take home. And while it may sound like a small thing…each child will be excited to take home his or her own book.”

“Exposing children to books and having them be able to own books is so important to their readiness and preparation for school. To me, once a child is excited about reading, he or she can become a lifelong learner and enjoy reading their whole lives. I think books are something that all children should have access to,” she added
Scout Matthew Brown, 16, a student at Leland High School, said he was happy to participate in the project because he loves chili and learned a lot collecting the books for the low-income children. Brown’s mother purchased the books he donated.

“I think it’s important for children to have books to read,” he said. “I think it’s important to help the community, especially those who are less fortunate than us because otherwise nobody is going to help them.”

Similarly, Scout Mike McCann, 16, a student at Valley Christian High School, said he “loved” participating in the service project. “It’s important that we help kids learn how to read. A lot of kids don’t know how to and it’s tragic. By doing this we can help them have a better life.”

McCann purchased all the books he donated. His brother, Andrew, 11, who’s also in the troop, joined the effort.
Parents Steve and Joanne McCann, who have lived in Almaden Valley for 12 years, helped their boys participate in the project by finding reasonably priced books on the Internet. He said the troop wanted to donate new or gently used books. “We didn’t want to give the kids books that looked like they had been through a world war. The idea is that the kids are getting a book that is new or practically new. They’re books that the children will value. It’s a great idea to do something like this because literacy is such an important thing.”

The father of three said most troop members come from affluent families who can help people who are less fortunate. “I would rather give them books than video games,” he said.

Scout Ross Virden, 12, who attends Ester B. Clark School in Palo Alto, said he was also happy to participate in the project. “It’s an expensive place to live for a lot of people and some families have a hard time buying new books for their kids.” His parents purchased the books for him.

Hickel said the goal for each scout was to collect 15 books with the goal for the troop to collect 225 books total. The troop exceeded its goal collecting nearly 300 books.

Parents Chris and Rachel Wise received the “Golden Ladle” award for cooking the best chili, which earned the highest amount of books.

Troop 557
San Jose Boy Scout Troop 557 has been holding meetings at Los Gatos Christian Church for nearly 30 years. Young men ages 12-18 work in the scout program advancing in rank and earning merit badges. The church also sponsors what’s commonly called a “pack” or a group of cub scouts ages 8-10.

“They’re fantastic,” said Hickel, who recently became scoutmaster replacing longtime scoutmaster Chris Wise, who’s now leading the Cub Scout group.

Hickel has been involved in scouts for eight years with his son starting when he became a wolf in second grade. He’s now a life scout. He’s three merit badges and an eagle project away from earning the highest scout rank—the eagle.

“The troop is run by the boys, but the parents assist,” explained Hickel. “The parents have committee meetings to discuss what needs to be done.”

The troop is mostly made up of Almaden boys, but attracts boys from Blossom Valley, Los Gatos, Santa Teresa and other parts of San Jose.

Almaden resident Matthew Brown said he loves being a part of the troop because he participates in many outdoor activities like camping, hiking and bike riding.

Arno Ungurean, the Friends of Scouting representative for the Santa Clara County Boy Scout Council, was on hand accepting donations for the annual fund-raising activity. He said it costs the council about $2 million to provide services for the youth involved in the council’s scouting programs. Families donate about 32 percent of the funds and about $1.5 million is given to the boys as a payback. “We’re collecting money so the boys will get a better program in the future,” he said.

Ungurean said he collected almost $1,200 from troop parents that evening, with a $2,300 goal. “A lot of people across the country believe that the scouting program is one of the best items around. Parents donate to help the boys and support the programs.”

Community groups interested in donating books to the preschool program may contact Patsy Storie, administrator of the SJUSD Early Education Department, by calling 535-6677.