Scout’s order of the day: Organize assistance

COSTA MESA — When Jason Wittman joined the Boy Scouts 10 years ago, people didn’t expect him to be an organizer, a builder, a doer.

Now, a decade later, the Newport Harbor High School junior has dismissed those early expectations. He helps friends with volunteer projects, he joined the Order of the Arrow — a division of the Scouts devoted to community service — and he’s exceeded the hours of service he needed to earn on his own Eagle Scout project.

On Saturday, he got to see the results of his work. Jason’s project was to build shelves and reorganize the supply room the Assistance League of Newport-Mesa uses to equip needy families with back-to-school clothes and supplies for their kids.

The program, called Operation School Bell, opened Saturday with 100 families scheduled to get clothes, backpacks and vouchers for new shoes.

Jason said he wasn’t always such a spirited volunteer.

“At first, it was just because I had to,” he said. “Now I’ve actually grown to enjoy it more.”

When he started as a Boy Scout in first grade, he said people considered him least likely to reach Eagle Scout, the organization’s highest rank. To achieve it, scouts must earn 21 merit badges, demonstrate leadership and perform community service.

Now he’s almost there. The Eagle Scout project, one of Jason’s last big requirements, came about after he heard his mother mention how cramped and disorganized the room for Operation School Bell was. Jason’s mother and sister volunteer at the Assistance League facility on Fairview Road in Costa Mesa.

Boxes were piled throughout the building, and when volunteers came to help outfit kids for school, they didn’t always know which box they wanted or where to find it, Assistance League of Newport-Mesa President Bev Eppey said.

The Assistance League is a national nonprofit organization that has offered Operation School Bell for 50 years, and the local league chapter has participated since 1968.

So Jason and some friends fixed broken cabinet doors, added more shelves along the walls and helped put the shorts and skirts and backpacks in place to get ready for Saturday’s opening.

Eppey said last year the program served 975 kids from Newport-Mesa schools, and the league’s goal this year is to help at least 1,000 kids.

Before Jason offered his help, Eppey said league officials were trying to figure out how they could afford to fix up the school supply room.

“It’s one problem we don’t have to worry about anymore,” she said.

Jason gets the satisfaction of a job well done, and he’s nearly done with his Eagle Scout work. Also, his years as a Scout and a volunteer have taught him the discipline he’ll need for his future plans — a four-year college and a career in law enforcement or technology.

“When I first went in Boy Scouts, I was the hyper one running around, never paying attention. And now look,” he said, spreading his hands toward the order he created. “I’ve put together this entire project.”