Hopewell Borough-based Boy Scout Troop 71 participated in a community wide cleanup event on October 15, 2022, working their way through their hometown cleaning up trash.
Clean Communities Day, a semi-annual event, is sponsored by Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space and is an opportunity for groups and individuals to raise money for the nonprofit of their choice while helping clean up Hopewell Valley.
“We started near Hopewell Presbyterian Church and worked our way toward Antimo’s Italian Kitchen, along the main streets,” said Assistant Patrol Leader Lynedon Horton. “We were collecting garbage and beautifying our town as well as the event being a money maker for our troop.”
“Since we working on cleaning on a Saturday morning, people are out and they express their appreciation for scouts helping out,” said Jonah Corvelyn, the Senior Patrol Leader for Troop 71.
“We love helping the Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space and the communities around us,” said Corvelyn. “As Scouts, that is our duty. It is important that we live out the Scout oath and the Scout law.”
“It is important for our troop to participate in events like this because it also helps raise money for the troop,” stated troop member and former Senior Patrol Leader, Jack Elliott. “It helps us to be able to have experiences that a person who is not in Scouts will not get to do.”
“Our last big trip was to Sea Base for a boating trip in St. Thomas,” said Elliott. “We had the opportunity to sail around different islands in the Carribean.”
Troop 71 has a long history in Hopewell Borough dating back to 1912 when the first scout registered. The troop was the first to register in New Jersey and possibly the second troop formed in the entire nation. Chartered to Hopewell Presbyterian Church, the troop prides itself on its focus on boy-lead scouting. The current troop’s 15 current members engage in leadership programs using the outdoors as their classroom.
According to their mission statement, Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space is an accredited non-profit land trust dedicated to preserving the Valley’s character by partnering with the community to preserve land, protect natural resources, and inspire a new generation of conservation.
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