The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Eagle Scout duffel bag project helps Adelbrook
CROMWELL — A Wethersfield 15-year-old’s Eagle Scout project is providing duffel bags filled with essentials to clients entering the service of a local agency that helps people with autism and developmental disorders.
Evan Coppa, a Life Scout working on attaining his rank of Eagle, which only 4 percent of all Boy Scouts ever attain, has been with Troop 85 in Wethersfield since 2014, according to a press release. He chose to do an Eagle project that would make a direct impact on people in his community, helping children and young adults.
He picked Ädelbrook in Cromwell because of the work it does for individuals with autism, but also because he had a relative, Merwin Westerberg, orphaned
at 5, who lived at the Swedish Christian Orphanage from 1928 to 1940, the release said. When Ädelbrook was founded in 1900, it was originally the Swedish Christian Orphanage. Later, it became The Children’s Home of Cromwell, and in 2012, changed its name to Ädelbrook.
Most of the residents Ädelbrook helps have autism or other developmental disabilities.
For his project, Evan and scouts in his troop assembled high-quality duffel bags so each resident would have a bag of their own to use and take with them once they leave Ädelbrook. Many arrive with little to no possessions when they come to Ädelbrook, according to the release. Each of the 36 bags are filled with basic items such as socks, underwear, T-shirts, handtied
blankets, a sensory toy and basic hygiene products. He was so successful in his fundraising that he was able to purchase extras of everything.
During the past three summers, Evan attended Boy Scout Camp at Camp Workcoeman in New Hartford.
He has earned 25 merit badges, including Citizenship in the Community, Environmental Science and Emergency Preparedness, and has held the positions of quartermaster, troop librarian, patrol leader and senior patrol leader within his troop.