Way to Go! Valley Stream student refurbishes WWII memorial

A Valley Stream student recently beautified the grounds of a local World War II memorial.

Gabriella Burke, a sophomore at Central High School, organized tasks ranging from spearheading the removal of dead bushes to the installation of pavers and new benches in front of the memorial at Holy Name of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Valley Stream. 

Burke, who is a member of an all-girl Boy Scout troop, completed the project as part of her Eagle Scout Award, which is the highest achievement in the Boy Scouts of America. She is a member of Troop 99, which she co-created several years ago with her mother, Lisa, and which has since grown to 12 members.

"I was reached out to my members of the church saying they wanted the memorial worked on as an Eagle Scout project," said Burke, who raised $2,500 for the project through the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. "A lot of people were saying they couldn't see their family members names on the memorial."

Burke co-created her Boy Scout troop when the Girl Scouts of Nassau County banned her Girl Scout troop from attending a local Camporee, which was an annual camping trip that had been previously attended by Girl Scouts, her family said.

Burke, 15, is also on her school's kickline team and studies dance at Tap to Pointe Dance Center in Malverne.

— MICHAEL R. EBERT

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.