Three Throggs Neck Cub Scouts recently received the highest honor before graduating to the Boy Scouts. The members of Pack 182 were awarded with the Arrow of Light on Friday, June 6 at the First Lutheran Church, which sponsors the pack.
Award
The three recipients were Liam Deenihan, 11, from PS 14; Jonah Guerrero, 10, from St. Frances De Chantal; and Daniel Bariatti, 10, from PS 71.
The Arrow of Light is earned by 10 or 11-year-olds that have been active participants in their Cub Scouts den and are ready to join their corresponding Boy Scout troop, said Linda Cruz, a den leader and Guerrero’s mother.
The requirements to earn the honor involve a range of activities that overlap with those for the initial Scout badge, so the Cub Scouts who earn it have already started their “Boy Scouts Trail” before they graduate from the Cub Scouts Pack, she said.
“It is such an honor that it is the only award in Cub Scouting that can be worn on the Boy Scout uniform,” said Cruz.
All in the family
The three boys all have scouting role-models in their family who achieved the highest scouting rank of Eagle Scout while a member of the 85-year-old Troop 182.
Deenihan and Bariatti’s uncle, Gary Bariatti, is Troop 182’s 25th Eagle Scout, and Guerrero’s brother, Joshua Sosa is Troop 182’s 45th Eagle Scout.
Many members initially joined because their siblings or relatives were once a part of the Cub Scouts Pack or Boy Scouts Troop 182, said Cruz.
“It’s very familial, our pack,” she said.
But Cruz said the members pack forms strong bonds beyond those by blood. The troop gives the boys a sense of belonging and community, she said, and throughout the scouting experiences they get to know each other well.
“They’re growing up together,” said Cruz. “I know kids who have built lifelong friendships.”
Involvement
Scouting teaches lessons about leadership, responsibility, and giving back to the community, said Cruz, and it’s rewarding for both the kids and the parents.
“You get to see them grow and you get to see them learn,” said Cruz.
The pack is always welcoming to new members who are in first through fifth grades, Cruz said, although the best time to sign up is before or near the beginning of the school year. She said the pack is also in need of more adult volunteers in order to keep it going strong.
For information about getting involved with Cub Scout Pack 182 contact Membership Leader Lucille Costello at (718) 309–3692.
