James Paradise’s journey as a Boy Scout was spent mostly with Troop 4070 in the township.
James Paradise zeroed in on helping a nonprofit that meets the needs of expectant and other mothers for his Eagle Scout Project after looking in a couple directions.
“My mom suggested going to Good Counsel because she heard through her church all about their organization,” the Cinnaminson college student recalled, “and what they do is they help pregnant mothers or new mothers in crisis, and they get them jobs and provide them with shelter.”
Good Counsel was founded in 1985 and is a nationally recognized nonprofit leader and innovator in creating supportive residential care and community-based services for homeless, expectant and new mothers and their children in the context of the Catholic social tradition, according to its website.
Pregnant and expectant mothers from any location – with or without other born children – and mothers with mental-health or addiction challenges are able to get help from Good Counsel at one of its four homes: three in New York and one in Riverside, just outside Camden.
Paradise knocked on that door and told the home’s staff about his Eagle Scout project. They told him there was an area in the back of the location that needed cleaning from overgrowth to create a safe space with a garden.
“I said, ‘Sure, I can do that,'” Paradise relayed.
He reached out to a couple of different garden centers who were welcome to donate to his project.
“Actually, a lot of them in charge (of the garden centers) were Eagle Scouts before,” Paradise explained, “which I found really interesting.”
He raised about $870, more than needed for the project.
“We originally estimated to get about $350 to $400,” Paradise noted, “and we wound up spending $366. The total collected was $870, so the rest of that was donated.”
Paradise gathered all the materials and volunteers needed, and by last August, residents at the Good Counsel home were able to spend time in their new garden space.
“The whole side was overgrown with a bunch of plants,” Paradise remembered. “(After cleaning out the space), we then put down bedding for the mulch and set up wood around to make a frame. Then we planted plants that were donated from the garden centers.
“We also had to fix up some benches that were kind of deteriorated, as well as a play set for children.”
For his Eagle Scout achievement, Paradise was honored in a May Court of Honor ceremony.
“The rank of Eagle is something you work towards your whole Scouting experience,” he pointed out. “You have to progress through several different ranks to become an Eagle Scout, and each of them has a list of 15 or more requirements within the Scouting program. And then you end it with the Eagle Scout project.”
Paradise began his journey as a Cub Scout, when he attended New Albany Elementary School in Cinnaminson, then transitioned to Boy Scout Troop 4070 in the township. Scouting helped Paradise gain valuable leadership skills.
“I was quartermaster, I was patrol leader, I was assistant patrol leader – and bugler at one point,” he noted. “I learned a lot about what it means to be a leader and how you have to listen to whoever you’re helping.”
Scouts also taught Paradise about basic everyday skills such as cooking.
With the Boy Scout chapter of his life concluded, Paradise said it’s a surreal feeling to be at the end of something that he had been looking forward to for so long. His advice for younger Scouts starting out is to stick with a goal.
“It’s really important to appreciate this program and appreciate the people around you in this,” he allowed, “because they’re going to be your friends for a long time.”
James Paradise’s Scout project began in a Good Counsel home’s overgrown backyard, which he turned into a garden and safe place (right) to earn his Eagle rank.
