Scouting, helping out a good cause

BURBANK— Dellon Soderstrom decided to give back Saturday to an organization that has given his Boy Scout Troop 204 so much in return.

Dellon gathered friends and fellow Boy Scouts to help him refurbish First Christian Church’s community room, which is where the Boy Scouts meet. The church has allowed the Boy Scouts to use the room free of charge.

Dellon’s project was made in an effort to give back to his community and to earn the Boy Scout’s highest rank of Eagle Scout.

“I wanted to do something that will last 10 or 20 years,” Dellon said.

To become an Eagle Scout, Dellon must show leadership qualities in the course of the project. He had to select a nonprofit organization, plan and organize a project that would benefit the group and solicit donations to pay for the task.

Dellon sent more than 40 letters to local businesses in an effort to get funding for the project, he said.

Local families and businesses, including Frazee Paint, Trader Joe’s, ASC Process Systems, Costco, Pavilions and Albertsons supermarkets, and Santoro’s Submarine Sandwiches donated supplies and food for Dellon’s project.

Dellon and his volunteers patched holes, cleaned the community room’s walls and painted the walls and trim Saturday.

The room hadn’t been painted for more than 10 years, he said. The colors, which were peach and cream, had been selected to match a color scheme of the inside of Starbucks coffee shops years ago, he said.

Dellon’s plan to revamp and freshen up the community room is to paint the room’s trim in brown and the walls in white and cream, he said. The project is expected to take two weekends to complete at the church on the 200 block of South Sixth Street.

“It’s going to be fun,” Dellon said.

The church has allowed the Boy Scouts to use the community room since 1967, said Dellon’s Scoutmaster, Steve Barrow.

Volunteer Matt Zastrow, 17, of Glendale, belongs to the same troop and has used the community room for several years.

Dellon’s project, Matt said, is a thoughtful way to give back.

“I think it’s a good idea because a lot of the youth organizations use this area for their meetings,” he said.

Projects like Dellon’s demonstrate that the Boy Scouts represent more than just a youth organization, Matt said.

The Boy Scouts have allowed Dellon to grow as a person, he said.

“It’s given me so many opportunities,” Dellon said. “I am very excited I got to do this project.”

Dellon graduated from John Burroughs High School in June and will be attending Glendale Community College in the fall. He plans to become a chef and open a 1950s-themed, drive-in restaurant.