Troop 100 Welcomes Newest Eagle Scout

Daniel J. Rose became the 55th Eagle Scout of Boy Scout Troop 100 in an Eagle Court of Honor ceremony at Christ and Holy Trinity Church Sunday.

His family, friends, scouts and numerous dignitaries attended, including U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4th), state Sen. Toni Boucher (R-26), state Rep. Chris Caruso, D-Bridgeport, Westport Police Chief Al Fiore and others.

Daniel's project, which was necessary to earn the Eagle Scout designation, was to organize a collection of musical instruments and donate them to The Achievement First Bridgeport Academy, an urban school in Bridgeport that serves lower income and minority children.

Daniel designed his Eagle Project to honor the memory of former Troop 100 Life Scout Sameer Mathur who died in April 2008 from a brain infection at the age of 19.  In addition to being a dedicated Scout and brilliant scholar, Sameer was also a gifted musician who played the guitar exceedingly well. Sameer's obituary can be read here on WestportNow.com.

Daniel's goal was to share Sameer's love of music with children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn to play an instrument. He thanks the Westport Music Center and the Rayburn Musical Instruments Company for their extraordinary support in this project.

Achievement First is a non-profit charter school management organization that operates a growing network of high-performing K-12 public schools in Connecticut and New York.  Achievement First was founded in 2003 by the leaders of Amistad Academy, a nationally acclaimed charter school in New Haven.

Achievement First schools provide students with the academic and character skills they need to serve as the next generation of leaders of their communities.
The Achievement First Bridgeport Academy opened its doors with 84 fifth grade students in August 2007.  Now in its third year, the school began the 2009-2010 academic year with 232 students.  Eventually, the school will expand to accommodate kindergarten through eighth grade.

Daniel Rose first became aware of Achievement First Bridgeport Academy through Mr. Andy Boas.  Mr. Boas is a Westport resident and philanthropist who founded The Charter Oak Challenge Foundation in 2000 to help Bridgeport students fight their way out of poverty and disadvantage through educational opportunity.  In 2006, Charter Oak spearheaded the efforts to open an Achievement First school in Bridgeport.

Jennifer Jackson is the Scoutmaster of Troop 100.