Herald Neighbors

Valley Streamer builds tool shed for homeless veterans

17-year-old coordinated the effort for his Eagle Scout project

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Kevin Donoghue didn’t quite know what to expect when he undertook the task of managing Boy Scouts Troop 116 as it built a shed for former war heroes at the United Veterans Beacon House in Freeport on Oct. 15.

“I haven't done anything on this scale before,” Donoghue said. “I've built little things, but nothing as big as this shed.”

Donoghue, 17, of Valley Stream, is a senior at Kellenberg High School in Uniondale. Currently a Life Scout, he’s been part of the troop for seven years and hopes to become an Eagle Scout, part of which requires overseeing a project. Donoghue’s task led him to the Beacon House, a philanthropic group created by Vietnam veterans to provide temporary and permanent homes to former veterans in need. There are 24 locations throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Many veterans partake in gardening at the Beacon House, but didn’t have a place to store their tools. Donoghue led a group of 30 volunteers, which consisted of troop members and adult leaders, in building the 8-by-8 shed. “Being the manager of this project wasn't really a new experience for me because I had led most of the volunteers for the year before my project,” he explained.

Donoghue said the shed was erected in just a few hours — faster than he anticipated. The effort cost about $450, which he fundraised from friends, family and businesses.

“He did very well,” said Kevin’s father, Ed Donoghue, who is the assistant scoutmaster of the troop. “It was an amazing experience from the younger kids to the leaders and everything else.”

Pat Burke, committee chair for Troop 116, said he believed Donoghue worked well with his peers in managing the project.

“Kevin was really good as a leader,” Burke said. “He’s not a bossy guy. He has the right temperament to finish what needs to be done.”

Burke first found out about the Beacon House when his wife, Lisa, a nurse at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, encountered a homeless veteran as a patient and researched the Freeport house to get him help. After Burke heard they needed a shed, he turned to his troop.

“I presented the idea to some of the scouts and they jumped on it,” he said. “They thought it was a great opportunity to help the veterans and do a meaningful project.”

The troop laid a gravel base, built the frame and installed doors, windows and a plywood roof.

There’s still work to be done, however. Kevin returned on Oct. 21 to paint the shed’s exterior and put shingles on the roof — but the veterans are already pleased with what they’ve seen. “A lot of the veterans sat out behind the house and watched the build,” Burke said. “They seemed genuinely thankful for it.”