By SIMON RIOS
Union Leader Correspondent
August 13. 2012 10:21PM

Chase Hughes is surrounded by young residents of Bajo Tejares, San Ramon, Costa Rica. Hughes served a humanitarian mission in Costa Rica as part of his Eagle Scout project for Troop 388. (COURTESY)

BEDFORD — Not many Boy Scouts achieve the honor of being an Eagle Scout. When Chase Hughes traveled to San Ramon, Costa Rica, to deliver hygiene kits to a Mormon mission there, he was on his way to achieving that lifelong goal.

“I want to be remembered as a hard worker and a good student and citizen,” said Hughes, 15, who will celebrate his new rank at the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Manchester on Sunday.

Hughes, who will enter Trinity High School as a freshman this fall, said his favorite part of being a Scout was learning preparedness, wilderness survival and first aid.

A member of Bedford Boy Scout Troop 388, Hughes earned 38 merit badges — though just 21 are required — in addition to his service project. An Eagle Scout must pass through the six ranks and serve six months in a troop leadership position before being approved by the Eagle Scout review board.

Hughes plans to attend the Boy Scout National Jamboree in West Virginia next year, and aspires to advance to senior patrol leader. “I will continue to earn merit badges because they teach you life skills and help you become fluent in many areas of life,” he wrote in an email.

Humanitarian work will be central to Hughes’ future, he said. In 2000, the Hughes family started Color My World, a Bedford nonprofit organization centered around helping young people get involved in service work. He plans to remain active with the group, and encourage his friends to do the same.

“The pinnacle of Scouting for me is not really being an Eagle Scout, but what you do with your life after as a result of the program,” he said. In addition, he wants to work in aeronautics.

For Hughes, the hardest experience in Scouting came in the form of the yearly Klondike Derby, a camping trip in the middle of winter in the woods.

“It takes a lot of effort and time,” he said. “You have to be mentally prepared because you are freezing and usually wet. I know now I could probably really survive in an emergency situation.”

Hughes’ Eagle Scout project consisted of collecting and packing 150 hygiene kits, which he delivered to Faithful Servants Mission in Bajo Tejares, San Ramon, Costa Rica. The town is populated by impoverished Nicaraguan immigrants, largely marginalized by Costa Rican society. He worked with various local organizations — from the Bedford Little League to the Bedford Women’s Club to the Mormon church.

In June 2011, he traveled to Costa Rica, where he enjoyed bonding with the children on the basketball court.

With the money left over from his fundraising, Hughes bought sports equipment for the children in Bajo Tejares.

The Eagle Scout is proud to share the designation with such figures as President Gerald Ford, Neil Armstrong, Steven Spielberg and former FBI Director William Sessions — just a few of the more than 2 million Eagle badge recipients since 1912.

“Now, I feel a little more responsibility to give to others and make a difference in the life of someone,” Hughes wrote, offering a bit of wisdom to younger Scouts. “Go on as many campouts as you can and learn all of the advance skills taught to you — most of all have fun.”

According to the Boy Scouts of America, in 2011, 51,473 Scouts earned the rank of Eagle Scout, or about 5 percent of Scouts.

Chase’s father, Brian Hughes, said he’s happy his son finished his Eagle early.

“We are encouraging him now to spend the next several years working on merit badges that will expose him to career opportunities, continue to work with his troop and develop leadership skills by working with younger Scouts.”

Hughes will be recognized in Court of Honor ceremonies on Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Manchester.

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Mon May 2, 2011 2:01pm EDT
Academy Award-Winning Actress Susan Sarandon Pays Tribute to Young Heroes as Part of Four-Day Recognition Events
Two New Hampshire students, Taylor Levesque, 17, of Manchester and Chase Hughes, 13, of Bedford, were honored in the nation’s capital last night for their outstanding volunteer work during the presentation of The 2011 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The two young people – along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country – received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon at the 16th annual award ceremony and gala dinner reception, held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Taylor and Chase were named the top high school and middle level youth volunteers in New Hampshire last February. In addition to their cash awards, they received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip with their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week’s recognition events.

“The Prudential Spirit of Community honorees have seen problems in their communities and around the world and have taken action,” said Ms. Sarandon. “Their compassion to help others should give us all a lot of hope for the future.”

Taylor, a senior at Trinity High School, raises money to buy books, games, toys, crafts, and writing supplies that she then distributes in small tote bags to hospitalized children in New Hampshire and other states. Taylor was motivated by the miserable time she had in the hospital following heart surgery a few years ago. “I was sore, bored, and felt isolated from the world,” she said. “I knew how horrible my experience was, and I wanted to make sure no one else would ever have to go through something so awful again.” She got the chance when she was given an assignment in a theology class to positively influence someone else’s life.

After brainstorming with her family, Taylor began contacting hospital pediatric wards to see if they would accept gift bags for young patients. Then she set about raising funds by holding bake sales and selling crafts at church gatherings, sending solicitation letters to local businesses, and applying for grants. When enough money had been collected, she went shopping for pens, crayons, coloring books, stuffed animals, puzzles, storybooks, and other small items that might cheer up a sick child. After packing her gifts into 80 tote bags and delivering them to a local hospital, Taylor realized she couldn’t stop, so she took her project, called “Project Share a Smile,” outside of school and created a website to solicit donations. She has since made deliveries to five more hospitals, and recently delivered her 240th gift bag. “I love to make people happy and improve their situations,” said Taylor. “It gives me unparalleled satisfaction.”

Chase, a homeschooled seventh-grader, directed a project that collected, packaged and distributed more than 2,000 hygiene kits for victims of earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. Chase is no stranger to volunteering. Since he was 4, he has been working with his family to provide humanitarian assistance to people around the world. Chase has helped send art and school supplies to needy children in Africa, raised money for local families in need, and prepared hygiene kits for victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

After the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, Chase organized his family’s relief effort, setting an initial goal of 500 hygiene kits consisting of toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels, soaps and combs. As word of the project spread through social networking and media coverage, organizations such as the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs agreed to become partners, and schools, scout troops, businesses and individuals quickly embraced the cause, filling collection boxes all over New England and in other states as well. In the end, almost $17,000 worth of supplies were donated and shipped to the disaster areas in Haiti and Chile. Chase said his organization will continue to send help to the needy and not just during times of disaster. “It is a great thing to help pitch in and work for others,” he said.

“Taylor and Chase represent young Americans who have a strong sense of community and who are dedicated to improving our neighborhoods, our nation and our world,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “With great anticipation, we look forward to their future achievements as they continue to spread the spirit of community.”

More than 29,000 young people participated in the 2011 awards program last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of the Points of Light Institute’s HandsOn Network. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state were selected in February, and were flown to Washington this week with their parents for four days of special recognition events.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 16 years ago by Prudential Financial to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models.

“The young women and men in America’s schools are nothing short of amazing, and nowhere is this more evident than amongst this year’s award recipients,” said NASSP President Jana Frieler. “They possess a keen intellect, servant hearts, capable leadership skills, and are filled with energy and ambition. NASSP and Prudential are honored to recognize them.”

More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year’s honorees can be found at http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.

The post Two New Hampshire Youth Honored for Volunteerism at National Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C. appeared first on Color My World.

The post Project: COSTA RICA appeared first on Color My World.

What a great way to kick off a great program.

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The magazine is highlighting our hygiene kit collection

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