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Not your typical Scouts
Two local young men striving for Eagle rank
By JoAnn Jones
YOUNGSTOWN
As Boy Scouts, Jeff Stine of Youngstown’s West Side and Justin Durkin of Canfield want to help others and make the world a better place.
They are typical Scouts in that they have earned merit and other types of badges: Durkin has 34, and Stine has 21.
They, too, are typical Scouts as they have selected worthwhile projects that will enable them to reach the rank of Eagle Scout.
Durkin is collecting items for care packages for the United Service Organizations (USO) to send to soldiers overseas. Stine is collecting items to be donated to the Joplin, Mo., Humane Society following the influx of animals after a devastating tornado.
Yet, as members of Troop 9003 that meets at Western Reserve United Methodist Church in Canfield Township, they are not typical — Stine is 36 and Durkin is 22, and both are developmentally handicapped, according to Scoutmaster Judy Jones, who also is Durkin’s mother.
“We have a terrific group of boys — I mean young men,” Jones said. “They range in age from 19 to 54. They have to work double hard.”
Five members of the troop already have attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
“Jeff has a great heart and a wonderful spirit,” said Russ Adams, pastor of the church where the troop meets every other Monday in the fellowship hall. “This troop has been in this church for more than 25 years. Walter Wills, who has since died and was involved with Scouts for more than 50 years, established the troop and moved it here. Other organizations didn’t want it.
“These guys are his legacy,” Adams said.
Stine is quick to point out that “anybody is welcome to join” the troop, but young men with disabilities are “certainly the identity of the group,” said Adams.
Dianne Clark, Jeff’s mother, assists Jones with the troop, and though she calls herself “just a mom,” Jones said she is much more than that.
“I took the job as Scoutmaster, but we’re all here for them,” Jones said. “No mom is nothing. She’s more than that.”
“All the boys move at different paces,” Clark said. “They overcome illnesses but keep working.”
The two young men wanted to do a project together, Jones said, but the Boy Scout rules require that they do separate projects.
Durkin, who has been involved in Scouts for seven years, chose collecting care packages for the USO as his Eagle project after watching television and seeing U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
“He’s very upset that our guys are over there [Iraq and Afghanistan],” Jones said. “He’s obsessed with the troops and everything going on. So when he needed an Eagle project, he chose the USO.”
Durkin said he likes to help the troops “because they need it” so he and his mom go out on the weekends to get the donations from the boxes they’ve set up at various businesses and organizations. He said he especially likes to collect items such as toothpaste, canned chicken and tuna, and beef jerky for the troops.
“Justin and I go from place to place to get donations — Turning Point, Walgreens,” Jones said. “Giant Eagle has donated gift cards, too. We wait until the weekends because he’s in the Easter Seals program all day.”
Stine, an animal lover, really wanted to make a difference for the Joplin Humane Society that takes in more than 12,000 animals a year and never turns animals away. After the tornado, the Humane Society took in 1,300 pets, reuniting 500 with their owners and adopting out 700 animals to permanent homes. He and his mom also go out to place boxes and collect donations. Stine is collecting items such as pet food, crates and carriers, cleaning supplies, and medical supplies such as peroxide and gauze pads.
“The CVS on Mahoning Avenue in Youngstown even asked us if they could help,” Clark said. “They asked me for the list and asked if they could help. We really appreciate them.”
“The members of the church are very supportive, too,” she added.
Stine also has help from the Tender Loving Christian Care Nursery and Pre-School, where the children help him make the boxes they put in area businesses.
“TLCC, where my nephew Cody Weimer goes, is helping us,” Clark said. “Jeff wants to be a good example for the little ones.”
Other area businesses and organizations that are helping the Scouts include the United Methodist church where they meet, Sam’s Club, Austintown Veterinary Clinic, Youngstown Water Meter and Waste Water departments, Farmers National Bank in Cornersburg, Next to New Shop in Columbiana, Easter Seals, St. Rose of Lima youth group, Dollar Store in Canfield and Center for Women on Route 224.
Jones and Clark pointed out that only the items placed in the boxes can be donated for the Eagle Scout projects. Everything the Scouts turn in for their projects must be donated items and not cash.
Stine and Durkin are planning to carry out their projects throughout the end of this month. According to Jones, they must take pictures and fill out papers for the Advancement Committee for the Boy Scouts of America. After all the paperwork is finished, an Eagle Court of Review will meet at the church. After approval of everything, the items will be delivered to the USO and the Joplin Humane Society.
“It doesn’t take long for the projects to be approved,” Jones said. “We’re looking at the end of September.”
“Judy took the bull by the horns and found what these young men can do,” Adams said. “It isn’t just an award — it’s the parents’ award, too. It takes a whole family. It consumes your life and is a life accomplishment.”