Scouts help to
support charity
The Monmouth Council of Boy Scouts packed and delivered more than 150 hospital stay bags to five area hospitals to assist a local charity called the Michael Gerard Puharic Memorial Fund (Michael’s Feat). For the past three months, upwards of 2,000 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Venturers collected needed items for Michael’s Feat overnight bags that are given to parents of seriously ill newborns.
According to a press release, the Scouts gathered at the Quail Hill Reservation in Manalapan on May 16 to sort and segregate items into groups, and then to pack the overnight bags. The Scouts reached their goal in packing 150 bags. Venturers (older scouts age 14-21) assisted Michael’s Feat in delivering 20 bags each to five local hospitals. The local hospitals include Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, and St. Peters University Hospital, New Brunswick.
The bags include "creature comforts" such as razors, shampoo, toothbrushes, disposable cameras, prepaid phone cards and other hygiene products, to provide support for parents and ease their burden as they care for their sick infants. In just over one year since the project’s inception, more than 165 overnight bags have been distributed.
"When you learn that your newborn infant is seriously ill, the last thing on your mind is packing a razor or a toothbrush, and that is why this overnight bag project was created," said Dana Puharic, founder-chairman of the Michael Gerard Puharic Memorial Fund. "The Monmouth Council of Boy Scouts have truly lived up to the meaning of doing a good turn for a neighbor — especially for the neighbors that Michael’s Feat works with."
According to a press release, the Michael Gerard Puharic Memorial Fund has been established to support, give comfort and ease the burden for parents caring for seriously ill newborns. Michael’s Feat was created in memory of a local couple’s newborn son Michael, who died after an 83-hour battle with a serious chromosome disorder. To date, the fund has provided more than $26,000 worth of support through the donation of needed items enabling parents to care for their ill children. Michael’s Feat also raises awareness to serious medical conditions that affect newborns.
In addition to the overnight bag project, the Michael’s Feat third annual "Country Jamboree" family BBQ is scheduled for July 26, 1-5 pm. Adult price is $15 and children are $6. To attend the barbecue, contact Dana Puharic at (732) 239-7887 or log onto www.michaelsfeat.org.