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10/18/2017 08:30 AMWhen Roses for Autism put out the call for an aspiring eagle scout to take on building a pergola to shade its Sensory Garden, Ben DiNoia answered.
“Right off the bat, when I was trying to pick an eagle scout project, I really knew that I would want something that would influence people—one on one, they’d interact with it every day. And, I just wanted to do something that would make people happy and improve their lives, and make their everyday lives easier,” says Ben.
That’s why the 17 year-old North Guilford resident, now in his 11th year with Boy Scouts of America, jumped at the chance to respond to Roses for Autism’s request. The project’s initial goal of building a gazebo was later revised to build a pergola—which is square instead of round and has crossbeams instead of a roof—instead.
The nonprofit, which operates at Guilford’s Pinchbeck Rose Farm, grows and sells fresh cut roses, flowers, and other gifts while also providing career training and mentorship to individuals with autism. Work Program Manager Susan Dunkerley-Squier sent out a press release in March, stating, “Roses for Autism, in Guilford, is in need of a gazebo for a sensory garden. Roses for Autism operates on a very tight budget and is calling out to up-and-coming Eagle Scouts for their help building a gazebo to provide shade for those sensitive to sun.”
“I saw it in the newspaper, and it stuck right out at me,” says Ben. “I came right over here and met with Susan Dunkerley-Squier, and we talked about it.”
Ben was in the beginning stages of meeting, planning, and designing the project in June when Roses for Autism’s Sensory Garden made headlines, and the news wasn’t good. Not once, but twice during the same month, acts of vandalism damaged work being done to develop the Sensory Garden.
But from that bad news, a good thing grew—community awareness and support for the project to build a pergola as part of the Sensory Garden’s landscape. Ben thanks those in the community who responded so quickly and generously to a recent GoFundMe online fundraising effort established by Dunkerley-Squire to raise funds for the pergola project. The crowdfunding effort surpassed its $2,000 goal for a total of $2,265 raised by 49 people in 11 days.
“That was incredible. People were so supportive on GoFundMe,” says Ben. “Within like 10 days, we got $1,900; and then we went over our goal by a lot.
“I think the [vandalism] definitely hit people,” he continues. “It creates this emotional connection with the community. We’re showing that we’re going to make it better and it doesn’t matter what people try to do.”
On Oct. 14, Ben and a group of about 20 volunteers from the Boy Scouts and local community gathered at Roses for Autism with the materials, a design, and enough people to finish the job. They started at 9 a.m. and had the pergola complete before dark.
“I just want to say that I’m really grateful to everyone who has come out today to help,” says Ben, who worked alongside adults and his peers to get the job done. “It’s a drizzly day, and Saturday morning is not the time I’d want to get up early, but all these people are sacrificing their time, especially the scouts. When I was a younger scout, I’d come to the eagle projects because I knew one day I’d need people to help me. So I think it’s all one whole big cycle of paying it forward. And I think that’s kind of what an eagle scout project is: You’re paying it forward to the community that has given to you your whole scouting career.”
The Guilford High School senior, who plans to study film and environmental studies as a college student next fall, also gives a shout out to his family and especially his dad, David DiNoia.
“My dad was a huge help in helping me design this and figuring out all the measurements, because before this I knew nothing about designing or carpentry or anything,” says Ben.
Of course, as one pursuing scouting’s highest achievement and rank, “I’m pretty ambitious,” Ben adds.
As he surveyed the early morning work area on Oct. 14 that included an open space next to the Sensory Garden, a pile of boards, and a group of adults and scouts sorting equipment and tools, no doubt Ben was already looking at the finish line.
“The goal is that this is going to be completely done, in one day. We have three groups: people leveling the area, people building the deck part, and [people] building the top, and hopefully it will all come together, around the same time, and be assembled.”
Suffice it to say, that’s exactly what happened, and it was well worth the effort, says Ben.
“I think the value in it is what’s going to come out of it—the use here, in terms of they’re going to be able to enjoy their time in the Sensory Garden and reflect. And I think that’s worth the effort.”
Now, another community enhancement stands in Guilford, thanks to another exemplary young person taking on a worthwhile eagle scout project.
“I think people have a pretty good idea that what eagle scouts are doing is a culmination of all their scouting career and all the values they’ve accumulated,” says Ben. “When you hear someone say, ‘I’m an eagle scout,’ you immediately know that they’ve done something good, and they have those values in their life.”