I need challenging Eagle Scout Project Ideas!!

[ChrisC]

Hello,

I am earning the rank of Life in days and am starting to think of an Eagle project so I can get started right away. I don't want to do a "generic" eagle project. I want my project to be something that: I can really be proud of, will really challenge me, will really make a difference, and something that will have a lasting effect. If it is of any help, I am in Four Rivers District of Baltimore Area Council.

Thanks,

Chris

[Stosh]

I had a boy contact the Veterans' Admnistration office and got a listing of all veterans buried in the local cemeteries. The boys then went out and evaluated the stones to see if 1) each veteran had a stone, 2) is the stone readable, 3) has it sunk into the ground and needs to be lifted, or 4) does it need cleaning. Following the inspection, a report was made to the VA and the Eagle scout then made application for all those that needed replacing.

 

There are other things out there that have historical significance that could qualify for a great Eagle project.

 

Stosh

[packsaddle]

Talk to local schools, local government recreation offices (city parks), county parks, state parks, even national parks. Most of these have long lists of needed work that are neglected due to lack of horsepower (not that you guys are horses or anything like that ). Also, check with summer camps outside BSA. I know of camps that specialize in handicapped or underprivileged children. They usually have things that need to be done. The local charities will also have ideas. Check with the local historical societies. They often have things on the shelf waiting for help. The local governments also often have potential projects...we refurbished a set of very old stone city gates for one project. There are many, many such opportunities. Good luck on making the choice.

[allangr1024]

Getting the idea is one of the tough parts. My son tried to get two projects off the ground before he found one that worked for him.

 

Here is an idea that I have not heard tried in our area. In our town there is an organization called Blue Star Mothers. This group sends care packages to the troops in Iraq and Afganistan. Contact them or a group like them, and offer to prepare 300 to 500 care packages for the troops. They would be your beneficiary organization. Get a list of the items that go into each care package, or propose one yourself. Once approved, go to every troop and pack in the district and ask for help by having the boys bring items for the packages, like gum, candy, paperback books and magazines, etc. If the scouts you contact actually package the items, so much the better. Contact the pastors of churches in the area, especially if scouts in your troop attend them, and ask for their help in the care package drive. Ask them to have their parishoners bring care package items. On a project workday, you and your troop can package the items and have them ready to ship. The beneficiary organization can usually arrange for shipment. You can list your hours, the hours of the guys in your troop who work on this project, and even the hours of anyone else who may package items for you. The opertunity to do this for Christmas is probably past, but Easter would be a nice target.

 

It is an idea.

 

 

 

 

[LongHaul]

Rather than looking for someone to suggest a project try sitting down and asking yourself what you care about. What stirs a passionate response within you? What would you like to change in your community? Who would you like to help or who do you think needs help most? While there are many things you can do that will make a difference and be of value, ask yourself this; What will make a difference to me?

LH

(This message has been edited by LongHaul)

[LongHaul]

(This message has been edited by LongHaul)

[John-in-KC]

Congratulations on earning Life!!!

 

EagleSon saw someone elses' Eagle Leadership Service Project, and decided he wanted to extend off it when the time came.

 

EagleSon earned Life Scout in late fall 2003. As we approached May of 2005 and his 16th birthday, he'd done nothing towards writing his project.

 

Scoutmaster finally had a heart-heart SM conference with him: He came away in angry tears, started writing, but quickly went back to being blocked.

 

A few weeks later, SM asked ES what his passions, his interests, his "good areas" were. Suggestion was: Make what matters to you work for you!

 

Inside six weeks, EagleSon:

- Identified three recipient agencies.

- Identified a labor pool.

- Recruited the recipient agencies, integrated their needs, and built a support concept.

- Did the extended research online.

- Packaged a project.

- Sold the project to the District Advancement Chairman.

 

The moral of the story: MAKE WHAT MATTERS TO YOU WORK FOR YOU!!! Not every ELSP has to be "bricks and mortar." I know a young man who did Library of Congress Veterans Oral History program. I know a young man who provided a recreation therapy resource to several hospitals. I know a young man who helped his church "family crisis" program cover a specific resource shortfall.

 

Meditate on what matters to you, be it a hobby or a classroom pursuit. Make what matters to you work for you!

 

I wish you well

 

YIS

 

[Beavah]

Yah, ChrisC. Eagle projects are a lot of work, especially ones that are challengin'! To get through them, it's important you're working on something that you really care about, eh?

 

So, ask yourself what you really care about. What things in your area have been "special" to you? What outside organizations have you volunteered for in the past? What are your personal interests? What "adult things" have made you mad in the last year that you wanted to do something about?

 

The hardest thing to do for an Eagle project is to see a real need, and step up to fill it. Your experience as a Life Scout will take yeh the rest of the way in terms of planning and execution. So consider this your Biggest Challenge as an aspirin' Eagle. Find a real need, somethin' you care about, and be the guy who steps up to fill it.

 

Good luck on your journey!

 

Beavah

 

[ASM915]

Chris,

Congratulations and welcome to the forum.

LongHaul, John and Beav have great advice. Follow your passions, but watch your time. If you are older and have a limited amount of time before becoming 18, the project may have to be more meaningful project, then a challenging one that might take longer.

If you have time on your side, 2 or 3 years, take your time with the project. If it extends over several months, and you can keep things moving forward and interesting for those involved, it will show your leadership.

 

If your passion is the great outdoors, look into the Hornaday program for project ideas. You can use an Eagle project for a Hornaday project, as long as it is not on Scouting property. Depending on the project, you can involve several Troop outings and camp-outs, getting your other scouts needed service project hours, as well as teaching them something along the way. If you have the correct mix of merit badges, you could even earn one of the Hornaday Awards, rarer then the Eagle.

 

If your passion is for peace and justice, check into programs like the Ulster Project. They bring Catholic and Protestant Irish teens over for about a month. The Project has the teens work together to resolving cultural differences, and to go back home and start building bridges between the communities. Maybe you could formulate a project around one of their program activities. A team building camp-out, COPE, etc.

 

If your thing is religion, how about creating and heading a mission trip for your church, involving a service project. It could be social, environmental, conversational, or historical in nature. You are a child of the world, and the world is your community.

 

Good luck and best wishes. Let me know what happens.

 

Eric P.

Bicentennial Eagle

ASM Troop 915

Canal Fulton, Ohio

[SemperParatus]

Here are the recently completed/in process eagle projects in our troop (also Baltimore Area Council):

 

1. 80 page full color Visitor's Field Guide to local nature preserve

 

2. Trail refurbishment - benches, water bars, mulching, etc.

 

3. Musical concerts at three nursing homes

 

4. A full production Christmas play for a large church

 

5. 5 books (teen novels) on tape for the Maryland School for the Blind

 

6. Three nights of homeless meals for the local Homeless Shelter

 

7. A series of Senior Technology Seminars to assist seniors with understanding electronic devices - cell phones, dvds, computers, etc.

 

8. A prayer labyrinth for a local church

 

9. A memorial garden

 

10. A picnic grove

 

11. An outdoor classroom / amphitheater

 

12. A driving tour of local historical sites

 

Each project is pretty much in tune with each boy's interests. That is the trick. Good luck in developing your interests into a project.

[Eamonn]

I like the list that SemperParatus provided (Hi we miss you!!)

ChrisC

Welcome to the forum.

Couple of things.

It isn't just an Eagle Scout Project.

It is an Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project.

Leadership is a big part of it.

We of course don't know each other. I have no idea what is and what isn't going to be a challenge to you?

As you enter our small town we have a really nice sign welcoming people to town on one side and thanking them for visiting on the other.

It's a great sign!! Made of granite, with the words cut or blasted in. It sure beats the old wooden sign we had that was falling over and had seen better days.

It was the work of an Eagle Scout.

I don't know who he is, what Troop he is from. In fact I don't know very much about the project -Other than it's a very nice sign.

I do know that a pal of mine who owns a local company that provides headstones (Grave markers) donated the stone and did the cutting for the words. I don't know how the Scout came to ask him or how he asked him?

Did he get his Mom to ask? Or did he make an appointment and see this pal of mine with a detailed design and plans of what he wanted?

I know from reading the local paper that the local town council had to approve the sign. I have no idea how much work went into getting this approval or who went about getting it?

The sign sits on a base, I think that there is some kind of a footer or foundation under this base. I don't know how deep the footer is? If there is anything there -Power lines, water lines. The sign is next to the railway line that runs through that part of town, I don't know if the railway owns the land and permission was needed to put the sign there or not? If permission was needed who got and what was involved?

 

A Scouting pal of mine and I drove past the sign, he (My pal) said he thought it was a "Mickey Mouse Project!" All he seen was the sign with the donated stone.

I wasn't so sure?

It really is a nice sign. I like it a lot.

Was it a challenge?

Did the Scout show leadership?

Challenges come in all shapes and sizes.

Eamonn.