Eagle Scout hopefuls aid residents, veterans

The home of a disabled Valley Stream couple was in need of a little TLC and Boy Scout Tim Sarro answered the call to help.

The property of a home at the corner of Rockaway Parkway and Maple Street had become so overgrown that concerned community members finally stepped in. The couple was unable to take care of the property on their own, and calling in a professional landscaping service would have been cost prohibitive.

Sister Margie Kelly and Deacon Scott Baker from Holy Name of Mary Church became concerned about their parishioners, and sought out help. “This was clearly a situation where the exterior condition of the property had become such a nightmare,” Kelly said. “We tried to figure out who might be the groups or agencies that might help.”

They approached Boy Scout Troop 109, and Sarro, 17, happened to be looking for a community service project for his Eagle rank. Sarro began planning the project back in March, and on July 21 he and about 30 other people, including scouts, troop leaders and family members, got to work.

They spent about six hours at the property removing bushes, vines and weeds, cutting branches and putting down new dirt and grass seed. “There was a lot of work to do,” he said.

Sarro was able to secure a dumpster at no cost — which they filled up twice — and had to bring in a tree-trimming service to take down some branches that would be too dangerous for untrained scouts to remove.

Before the clean-up day, Sarro and his father visited the property several times. He said it required a lot of planning before his group of volunteers could actually get to work. Once they were there, Sarro spent much of the day supervising, keeping everyone else on task, but also did some of the dirty work himself.

Sarro said the property looks completely different now. “It was a great feeling,” he said. “I felt very accomplished.”

Now that his project is complete, Sarro will finish some paperwork so he can officially become an Eagle Scout. First, he must appear before an Eagle Board of Review.