The altruistic scouts of Troop 24

Brendan Warner, an Eagle Scout candidate in Troop 24 in Malverne, left, packs a car full of donations destined for the Haven House, a homeless shelter in Brentwood.

Rossana Weitekamp

Scoutmaster Joe Resch has been volunteering for the Boy Scouts Troop 24 for roughly 30 years.

Herald photo

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As Eagle Scout candidate Brendan Warner and almost a dozen other scouts from Troop 24 in Malverne worked to package up donations destined for a shelter in Brentwood, Scoutmaster Joe Resch looked on and smiled.  “Even if some of them don’t make Eagle Scout, they’ve done some good and they’ll never lose what they’ve gained from it,” said Grech. 

Resch, who has been volunteering for the Boy Scouts for roughly 30 years, obviously speaks from experience. In recent times alone, his scouts have renovated two shrines at Our Lady of Lourdes parish, installed two closets in the church basement, and last week, were packaging diapers, toys, bottled formula, stuffed animals and other items as part of an effort led by Warner to help Haven House, an emergency shelter that services homeless families. “I was looking to help underprivileged mothers specifically, and found out about Haven House through a family friend,” said Warner, who, along with other Troop 24 scouts, used Veteran’s Day — a day off from school —to execute the effort. “I visited and met with Amanda, who said that the mothers needed toys, clothes and food for their children. “I was very touched by the experience,” he added.

The Haven House was equally touched by the scouts. “They first contacted me early this year and said they wanted to collect donations for us and wanted our feedback as to what kind of items we really needed,” said Amanda Fanduiz, a case manager at Haven House. “They basically contacted me every few months and updated us on where they were at. When Brendan arrived yesterday, it was really a surprise. Two cars full of all donations — nearly 20 boxes full of supplies we really need here,” she added. The Haven House is a 20-year-old organization with six shelters in Suffolk County.

Resch was proud to say that the Scouts’ community efforts wouldn’t be ending any time soon. “Next week we have another scout doing a project for the Lynbrook Baptist Church,” he said. “He’ll be turning a closet into a storage room for bells for the church’s bell choir,” he added. “They’re going to paint it, fix it up, put in new flooring and other things.” That effort, Resch said, would be led by Eagle Scout candidate Robert Bach.