Keeping spirits bright during the holidays

So when he decided to take on an Eagle Scout project to fill backpacks with food, toiletries and warm clothing and distribute them to veterans in need this fall, he knew he’d be spending his weekends raising funds, purchasing supplies and distributing the 168 backpacks he and a team of volunteers ultimately filled with essential items for veterans facing challenges like homelessness.

But even with his experience leading groups of Boy Scouts and juggling several commitments at once, Mariani found the project pushed him outside his comfort zone, bringing him to coordinate the work of some 200 volunteers who gathered Dec. 11 to fill the backpacks in the Our Lady of Angels school gym.

“That was definitely a new challenge on a much larger scale,” he said.

Mariani said the effort to put backpacks together for local veterans started three years ago when another Eagle Scout candidate teamed up with members of a parish group to galvanize the community’s support for veterans who may not have a permanent shelter.

Though the community filled 25 backpacks in its first year, Mariani said news about the project has spread widely in subsequent years. Speaking after six masses during the weekend of Veterans Day in November, Mariani and his troop were able to raise some $8,000 needed to purchase the backpacks, supplies and Safeway gift cards he distributed to the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and San Mateo County’s Human Services Agency, which provides resources for veterans, in December.

While the project was Mariani’s responsibility, he said the help of the some 20 members of his troop kicked into gear this year to put even more backpacks together. Having helped other Eagle Scout candidates on their projects in the past, Mariani knew his fellow scouts would pitch in, but was still grateful for their support.

“They came to help me and I really appreciate that,” he said.

Mariani’s mother, Claire Mariani, acknowledged fitting the project into her son’s busy schedule was nothing short of a feat, but noted how comprehensive the project was as a learning experience for Matthew Mariani and his twin brothers, who are in eighth-grade and also in the troop. She said seeing a project through from start to finish as well as learning how to create a budget for it were among their many takeaways.

“It’s just amazing to see what these young men go through and what they learn and what they’re capable of,” she said.

Mariani said learning more about how government agencies provide services to specific populations of the community, like veterans, was an eye-opener for him. He added that officials at the veterans hospital in Palo Alto and within the county

emphasized the year-round need for support for veterans, and said projects like his could be a good way to bring attention to their needs within the community.

For Hank Scherf, chair of the San Mateo County Veterans Commission, Matthew Mariani’s efforts could go a long way to spreading the word about the challenges some veterans face by bringing his parish community and fellow scouts into the project. Having worked with Matthew Mariani to identify the supplies that would be most useful, Scherf said the backpacks could help not only homeless veterans, but also those who may be seeking county services for help with other needs, including access to medical or health services or help finding a job.

“That brought a lot of visibility to this need,” he said. “I think that that’s a big positive for the veterans community at large.”

San Mateo resident and U.S. Marine Corps veteran George Smith said that while the backpacks could help veterans living in their cars or in encampments with essentials, they also send a powerful message that the community cares about them. Also a member of the San Mateo County Veterans Commission, Smith said the backpacks could provide immediate relief for veterans seeking longer-term resources at the county office, and that the notes of support included in the backpacks by those who packed them could change the lives of those who receive them.

“It’s such a vital service to our veterans,” he said. “It just gives them a little self-respect.”

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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