Eagle Scout Project Issue

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What area are you in?
A rescue group ( animals) might be more open to a project.
Our Church does a food pantry once a month, non religious that could always use help.
My kid raised money for a disabled friend that needed equipment insurance didn’t cover, no hoops to jump through for that. She just gave them the cash.
I know nothing about Eagle Scout projects so not sure what else to suggest.

We are in Fairfax County (close to Fairfax City). His proposal to the animal shelter was to build raised dog beds (wood or PVC), an outdoor donation bin and include a food/pet supply drive.

I would continue to pursue this. Have him request an in-person meeting with a leader/manager/exec and explain he will be bringing a parent so that you can demonstrate the finances will work and/or commitment to see the project through.

Overstrapped non-profits don't have spare time to think beyond mission critical work. They can probably get people to do food drives without any oversight. Having someone make things for on-premises use involves access, supervision, decisions. You either need higher-level buy-in or to convince them what is being offered is highly useful.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I volunteer for Girl Scouts and BSA, and our Gold Awards are similar to Eagle Scout awards but have a different philosophy behind them, and they take take longer and have a far more bureaucratic approval process to get projects moving. I have thoughts!

hopefully I can provide some insight into where the wheels may be coming off. I'll also add up-front that at least where I live, Eagle Scout awards have a bad reputation for being all about using other people's volunteer time to make one kid look good. I know the whole point of the project is that a Scout is supposed to bring people together, but you should be aware of the prejudices people might be bringing to the conversation. Girl Scout Gold Awards are different in that they are self-run and funded and don't use others' labor in the same way, so we have easier community buy-in for Gold Awards.

Get on the phone or show up in person. HS kids hide behind email under the guise of "being professional" but they are usually doing it to avoid the energy and courage it takes to go and have conversations in person or to pick up the phone. If you find a contact person via email, don't try to keep the conversation going by email- set up a time to go and meet in person or to have a phone call or (least-preferable) a zoom call.

Also, you need to talk to him beyond "ideas" about a service project and get him to frame his project as something that is essentially fully thought-through and just needs the location/approval/etc.

I volunteer with another community organization and we are inundated with volunteers who have "ideas for a project" but ghost us when it's time to do the work to make it happen. I don't have the time to hand-hold someone through 80% of a project and then be on the ground for the final 20% of it while someone else gets all of the credit for my org's work. I've had that experience and am very protective of my org's resources now.

It's possible that the groups your DS is reaching out to have had similar experiences and don't have the resources to nudge your DS from "idea" to making the project happen. He's going to need to show more initiative and more planning to get the attention of the partners he needs to see this through.

If you are really stuck, look up Gold Award resources from Girl Scouts. There are some great free resources and first-person write ups that provide a ton of information about how to handle roadblocks, how to gather resources and volunteers, and how to engage with the community.

OP here, this is excellent advice. Thank you so much for sharing. My son is shy and often uncomfortable to call or approach others, but this may be a learning experience for him to come out of his shell if he REALLY wants this. His original idea was the restoration of a historic cemetery area, but we ran into too many county/state approval issuse as well as working with historical societies. He loves animals and he made a new proposal to an animal shelter for building raised dog beds (out of wood or PVC) in addition to an outdoor donation bin and coupled with a pet food/pet supply drive. But, he is of course open to any needs that a shelter may have instead. Another idea was to build a 'reading area' in a DV shelter perhaps (building bookshelves and stocking them with books/magazines/art supplies) in addition to supplying bean bag chairs and other comfort items that a DV shelter may need. He is an avid reader himself and he thought that this would be an excellent opportunity to help out and also share one of his own passions.

I'm the PP you're replying to and I know a lot of kids like your DS. This will be a great turning point for him, hopefully. Honestly, animal shelters are overwhelmed by people who want to help and have the challenge of needing to take care of all of their animals in the same space where volunteers want to be. It's possible that they have plenty of raised beds, or they don't use them for specific reasons, or they have a strong preference for commercially made ones.

The DV shelter idea sounds great but they are going to be very protective about who comes in there given the privacy concerns they have for their residents. Have you considered a youth day shelter or safe place? I live out of state now, but our school has worked with a youth day shelter as well as a safe place for LGBTQ youth and young adults, and both places really needed volunteers and additional resources for their clients. Teenagers get far less attention and resources than little kids or families. Second Story's website lists a lot of partner orgs so maybe that's a good place to start.

[Anonymous]

My son is in Scouts though not as old as yours. I just wanted say don’t give up!

My son has an idea to do something at the local public school. Maybe an elementary school needs something. He could lead younger kids in a project.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I volunteer for Girl Scouts and BSA, and our Gold Awards are similar to Eagle Scout awards but have a different philosophy behind them, and they take take longer and have a far more bureaucratic approval process to get projects moving. I have thoughts!

hopefully I can provide some insight into where the wheels may be coming off. I'll also add up-front that at least where I live, Eagle Scout awards have a bad reputation for being all about using other people's volunteer time to make one kid look good. I know the whole point of the project is that a Scout is supposed to bring people together, but you should be aware of the prejudices people might be bringing to the conversation. Girl Scout Gold Awards are different in that they are self-run and funded and don't use others' labor in the same way, so we have easier community buy-in for Gold Awards.

Get on the phone or show up in person. HS kids hide behind email under the guise of "being professional" but they are usually doing it to avoid the energy and courage it takes to go and have conversations in person or to pick up the phone. If you find a contact person via email, don't try to keep the conversation going by email- set up a time to go and meet in person or to have a phone call or (least-preferable) a zoom call.

Also, you need to talk to him beyond "ideas" about a service project and get him to frame his project as something that is essentially fully thought-through and just needs the location/approval/etc.

I volunteer with another community organization and we are inundated with volunteers who have "ideas for a project" but ghost us when it's time to do the work to make it happen. I don't have the time to hand-hold someone through 80% of a project and then be on the ground for the final 20% of it while someone else gets all of the credit for my org's work. I've had that experience and am very protective of my org's resources now.

It's possible that the groups your DS is reaching out to have had similar experiences and don't have the resources to nudge your DS from "idea" to making the project happen. He's going to need to show more initiative and more planning to get the attention of the partners he needs to see this through.

If you are really stuck, look up Gold Award resources from Girl Scouts. There are some great free resources and first-person write ups that provide a ton of information about how to handle roadblocks, how to gather resources and volunteers, and how to engage with the community.

OP here, this is excellent advice. Thank you so much for sharing. My son is shy and often uncomfortable to call or approach others, but this may be a learning experience for him to come out of his shell if he REALLY wants this. His original idea was the restoration of a historic cemetery area, but we ran into too many county/state approval issuse as well as working with historical societies. He loves animals and he made a new proposal to an animal shelter for building raised dog beds (out of wood or PVC) in addition to an outdoor donation bin and coupled with a pet food/pet supply drive. But, he is of course open to any needs that a shelter may have instead. Another idea was to build a 'reading area' in a DV shelter perhaps (building bookshelves and stocking them with books/magazines/art supplies) in addition to supplying bean bag chairs and other comfort items that a DV shelter may need. He is an avid reader himself and he thought that this would be an excellent opportunity to help out and also share one of his own passions.

I'm the PP you're replying to and I know a lot of kids like your DS. This will be a great turning point for him, hopefully. Honestly, animal shelters are overwhelmed by people who want to help and have the challenge of needing to take care of all of their animals in the same space where volunteers want to be. It's possible that they have plenty of raised beds, or they don't use them for specific reasons, or they have a strong preference for commercially made ones.

The DV shelter idea sounds great but they are going to be very protective about who comes in there given the privacy concerns they have for their residents. Have you considered a youth day shelter or safe place? I live out of state now, but our school has worked with a youth day shelter as well as a safe place for LGBTQ youth and young adults, and both places really needed volunteers and additional resources for their clients. Teenagers get far less attention and resources than little kids or families. Second Story's website lists a lot of partner orgs so maybe that's a good place to start.

I will check on this. Yes, my concerns with the DV shelter reading nook idea were the same about privacy etc. We searched on the Scout website and found information about perhaps making 'care or comfort kits' instead for women and children. Storage might be an issue though.

[Anonymous]

Is there a shelter, food bank or pantry, or assisted living facility, that could benefit from a garden to grow fresh food? Building raised beds and composting bins and materials in time for spring and summer planting (and bulbs in winter) could bring community together for the building and then provide engagement and community going forward? There are organizations that focus on this in urban food deserts, not sure if there is already an organization like this where you live but could be a good place to start for an informational interview.

[Anonymous]

Your troop needs to have some kind of list of organizations that are willing to take on Eagle Projects. DS' troop had that. We also aren't part of a church. One of the orgs on the list was a nonprofit nature center that DS did some work for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a shelter, food bank or pantry, or assisted living facility, that could benefit from a garden to grow fresh food? Building raised beds and composting bins and materials in time for spring and summer planting (and bulbs in winter) could bring community together for the building and then provide engagement and community going forward? There are organizations that focus on this in urban food deserts, not sure if there is already an organization like this where you live but could be a good place to start for an informational interview.

Thank you! I will ask him to look imto this. Great idea!

[Anonymous]

I know a couple of scouts who did their projects at local retirement communities. One built raised planting beds and the other renovated an outdoor garden area.

Another scout I know organized a sports day for underprivileged youth and then donated all the sports equipment used. You could do a drive for that too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your troop needs to have some kind of list of organizations that are willing to take on Eagle Projects. DS' troop had that. We also aren't part of a church. One of the orgs on the list was a nonprofit nature center that DS did some work for.

Unfortunately, his troop did not provide us with any of these options.

[Anonymous]

*The raised planters were for the residents to garden in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The advice from 12:51 is excellent.

I would also encourage him to do some informational interviewing if you have any friends or family who work for similar organizations. Doesn't need to be the same organizations he is targeting, in fact t's better if they are not. Find out why they might be enthusiastic or unenthusiastic about a project and how best to present himself.

I'm 12:51 and informational interviewing is a brilliant idea. We have our Girl Scouts do something similar starting at a young age- maybe 5th or 6th grade- if they want to go through the awards progression. It's one thing to have an idea in your head, but another to have to explain it to someone else.

It will be hard to get your kid out of the mindset of "this is a thing I have to check off so I can be called an Eagle Scout" and into the mindset of "this project will help me build skills that will serve me well through college and my adult life", but keep an eye on that as the ultimate goal. It takes a lot of maturity and it's ok if the project and award doesn't happen. That in itself will be its own lesson and regret about how he might have done it differently could provide just as much of a learning experience.

OP here. I agree with you. I'm at the point to let it all go and if he has enough drive to get this done, then it will happen and if not, it will be a learning experience that he may always regret, but it may also make him look at future choices in a different way.

A little push from parents isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’ve known too many people whose biggest regret in life was stopping short of Eagle. Plus it’s a boost for college applications.

[Anonymous]

DS was in a Troop that leaves the ideas to the scouts too. Your son has had some good ones. We see kids either do things for the org that sponsors the troop (in our case, a church, but you don’t have to be a member) or their elementary/middle school. My DS did an invasive species removal project for FFX County. It was not his first choice project, those were much closer aligned to what your DS wants to do, but there were too many hurdles with those projects and DS was a COVID grad bumping up against his 18th birthday. He didn’t have months to spare trying to get an org to be open to his project ideas.

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/invasive-management-area

[Anonymous]

Mr Vernon has someone who coordinates this type of thing. Reach out to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS was in a Troop that leaves the ideas to the scouts too. Your son has had some good ones. We see kids either do things for the org that sponsors the troop (in our case, a church, but you don’t have to be a member) or their elementary/middle school. My DS did an invasive species removal project for FFX County. It was not his first choice project, those were much closer aligned to what your DS wants to do, but there were too many hurdles with those projects and DS was a COVID grad bumping up against his 18th birthday. He didn’t have months to spare trying to get an org to be open to his project ideas.

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/invasive-management-area

Thank you so very much for the link. My son is also quickly approaching his 18th birthday and we are on a tight deadline as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mr Vernon has someone who coordinates this type of thing. Reach out to them.

Thank you!