My name is Zack Brandon, Troop 1283 Junior Assistant Scoutmaster and Patuxent Chapter Chief. On February 3rd, Super Bowl Sunday, our troop was gathered at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bowie, MD to assist them in an annual good turn: helping those less fortunate than us have a warm place to sleep at night.
Warm Nights is a program that many churches in our area participate in every year when the weather gets cold. Many men, women, and families rely on the program to get through the winter every year. They are cared for and sheltered for one week inside of the gym in the church, and are provided with a warm place to sleep at night, a large dinner, lunches, and toiletries.
Troop 1283 helps out every year by fixing lunches and preparing a large chili dinner for the guests. The twelve youth attendees collectively made four, large, delicious bowls of chili beforehand and brought it to serve. We arrived well before the guests did, and formed an assembly line to make their bagged lunches for the following days. After setting up tables, chairs, and tablecloths, we set up a television to stream the Super Bowl so that the guests could watch it while eating their dinner. Once all of the preparations were ready, the guests slowly started to arrive. Once they were all present, the Pastor of the church opened the meal with a prayer, and we began serving the guests their chili, salad, chips, drinks, and desserts. After serving around thirty guests, we went though the line ourselves and ate dinner with them. We were able to sit and cheer on the teams at the Super Bowl with them and talk to them about who they thought would win the game. Well-fed, we cleaned up the area and departed for home late that night. It was overall a magnificent experience, and I would recommend it to every Troop in our district!
The 41st President, George H.W. Bush, was still lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda when Troop 1717 of Hartwood, VA held its weekly evening meeting on December 4th at historic Hartwood Presbyterian Church in Aquia District. It was there that Eagle Scout and Senior Patrol Leader Ben Motta asked youth and adult leaders if it was possible to pull together a delegation from the Troop to travel that very night to the U.S. Capitol to honor his service to our Nation.
They said they felt it important to make the extra effort to honor President Bush, a war hero and member of what’s come to be known as the “Greatest Generation,” who had dedicated his life to service to his Country.
On September 22nd 400 Scouters were welcomed by the Trust for the National Mall as they converged to volunteer their time and effort to a variety of Mall-related service projects. The day also marked the National Environmental Education Foundation’s celebration of the 25th Annual National Public Lands Day. Known as the largest single-day volunteer effort, this year’s theme of resilience and restoration was inspired by a pressing need to address the effects of a spate of natural disasters and extreme weather that have taken a terrible toll on both public lands and those who depend upon them. 
With over 35 million visits and 3,000 permitted events annually, the National Mall is the most visited National Park in the country. This level of use in “America’s Front Yard” puts an enormous strain on available resources, so volunteer efforts make a massive difference; a difference that is estimated to save the National Park Service nearly $1 million in annual labor costs. Scouts engaged in river clean up, painting
