It has been said that the holiday season brings out the best in people, especially when it comes to giving to generous causes and helping the needy. There has never been a better example than the recent generosity of the parishioners of Our Lady of Fatima Church and the members of North Bergen Boy Scout Troop 160.
Six weeks ago, Troop 160 Scoutmaster Tony Ferrer sat down with the troop’s committee of parents, approximately 15 in all, to inform the parents about the troop’s upcoming service projects. One of the projects he wanted to see the troop participate in was collecting food for the needy of the neighborhood.
"We felt that it would be a good thing to do," Ferrer said. "We knew that Our Lady of Fatima (where the troop holds its regular meetings) had a food pantry and we wanted to be able to help them."
After meeting with the pastor, Rev. John Korbelak, Ferrer had no idea just how many people in the community were truly needy of food for the holidays.
"I was shocked to find out how many were in need," Ferrer said. "I didn’t realize that there were so many families who didn’t have enough money for food for the holidays. After I realized that, I knew that we were doing the right thing."
But Ferrer had no idea how big this project would eventually become.
The scouts started distributing fliers at Sunday masses and throughout the neighborhood, apprising people that they were collecting canned goods to help the needy. The scouts received a huge boost from the Shop Rite in the Columbia Park shopping center, which gave the scouts 2,000 shopping bags that they could distribute with the fliers.
"This way, the people could put the food in the bags, then just bring them with them to Sunday mass, where our scouts were outside collecting," Ferrer said. "Every Saturday and Sunday, for six weeks, our scouts were out there collecting the donations. Some of the scouts were also going door-to-door to collect items as well. They did that once a week."
One of the most diligent and dedicated scouts was 12-year-old Christian Samper, a seventh grader at Lincoln School.
"I did it because I wanted to help," said Samper, one of 31 scouts to participate in the food collection project. "I wanted to help those who were less fortunate than me. I feel like I’m a good-hearted person, and that’s what being a Boy Scout is all about. One of the duties of being a Boy Scout is to help people. There were a lot of scouts who helped and worked hard. I wasn’t alone."
After a while, the scouts began to enjoy their project.
"It really was a lot of fun," Samper said. "It wasn’t work. We had fun because we got to help other people and we were able to give them happiness for the holidays. I take a lot of pride in making people happy and a lot of pride in being a Boy Scout."
Neither Ferrer nor Samper realized just how much food they would collect in just six weeks.
"We totaled $4,300 worth of food," Ferrer said. "We had about 2,000 cans. We had cases of pasta and spaghetti sauces, cases of canned items. People just kept coming freely with food. It just kept coming in. It was amazing how much."
"At first, I didn’t think we had that much," Samper said. "But then, I was stunned when we started to count all the food and put it all together. We sent two truck loads of food. I couldn’t believe it."
The people who run the food pantry at Our Lady of Fatima were very appreciative of the efforts of the scouts.
"You never realize how many people need the help until you take on a project like this," Ferrer said. "Of course, we had leaders there present at every collection, but the work was all done by the boys. It was a tremendous effort."
Ferrer said that he met one woman who was a single mother of two children and had just lost her job.
"She was so thankful for what the boys were able to do," Ferrer said. "That’s what it’s all about."
<I>To read more about the Boy Scout Troop 160’s "Service For Food" project, log on to www.leaguelineup.com/troop160. Anyone interested in joining the troop can find out information at that site.</i>