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Eagle Scout Project Honors Brother’s Legacy

Van Leuven family photo (Photo via: KSL.com)
Van Leuven family photo (Photo via: KSL.com)

One year ago this week, Eagle Scout Brayden P. lost his four-year-old brother Ethan to leukemia.

Brayden is memorializing his legacy with an Eagle Scout project that says ‘thank you’ to the community that supported his family through such challenging times.

In the days leading up to Ethan’s death, community members and people across the world gathered to celebrate Halloween, Christmas, and Ethan’s birthday to fill his last week with his favorite occasions.

“It’s been really neat to look back at the memories and see how much support we got and how much love was shown to us,” Brayden’s mother Jennifer said to KSL.

Brayden spearheaded a memorial soccer tournament and toy drive for his Eagle Scout project to give back to those who helped his family. He says he and his brother shared a passion for the sport and wanted to celebrate his memory. And instead of gathering registration fees for the tournament, Brayden collected toys and donations from local businesses.

“It’s donations for playrooms and toys for the kids at Primary Children’s Hospital,” Brayden explained. “Ethan was treated at Primary’s, and everyone there was amazing, and we want the kids there to have the same stuff Ethan did.”

The Eagle held the toy drive on Friday, October 23 and was flooded with support from the community. The next day, Brayden kicked off the Ethan Van Leuven Memorial Soccer Tournament and donations continued to pour in.

“It was amazing what everybody did,” Brayden said. “And it’s amazing what they’re doing now to help me pay back what people have done for us.”

Read the full story on KSL.com and watch the touching video below to hear from Brayden on the Eagle Scout project that’s honoring his brother’s memory.

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Hayley

Hayley Cordaro is a communications specialist at the Boy Scouts of America. She loves sharing inspiring success stories and uncovering new ways volunteers and employees can make the most of their Scouting experience. If you have story ideas or questions, reach out to us at communications@scouting.org.