Time spent on Eagle Project

[Eagle309]

The new Eagle Project workbook asks for the total hours spent on the Eagle Project. If funds need to be raised to purchase materials for a construction type project, should the time spent fundraising be included in the total hours? I am getting conflicting opinions on this locally and simply want to be able to advise my Scouts correctly in this matter.

[Buffalo Skipper]

If the funds raised were for the project, then it was a part of the project, and should be included. I see this as being exceedingly straight forward; my opinion is, however, irrelevent, as your district may have different expectations. I would check with them for a definitive answer.

[ASM59]

I would tend to agree with Buffalo. In my opinion, the hours put in for fundraising should be included; it's a part of the project. As he points out, in your case, the ultimate deciding factor is what your local Council or District Advancement Committee thinks. I have seen many different opinions of how to interpret these things depending on which Council you may be speaking to. So, I'd speak to your Advancement Chair person and see what his/her opinion is.

 

ASM59

[Stosh]

If the book asks for number of hours dedicated to the project, I would assume that all hours dedicated to the project be included. I can't imagine why they wouldn't be included. What one has to do is decide which of the conflicting "opinions" is for real and which one is smoke and mirrors. Read the book and go with what it says.

 

Stosh

[Eagle92]

Stosh,

Unfortunately it is not always that easy. For whatever reason different Dist. Adv. Chairs interpret projects differently. I had one Scout told he couldn't count time doing research for his project towards it. This young man built collapsible obstacles for search and rescue (SAR) dogs for his project. he talked to people, looked up various designs that were easy to transport, and went out and visited one of the training facilities to take photos and get ideas. he built over 10 obstacles that could be broken down and transported in a trailer for the SAR team. They loved him! BUT the Adv, chair said he couldn't count the time.

 

Long story short, that young man did finally get it approved after some petitioning, and the SAR team did use those obstacles for training. A few years later, when he was a member of the team, they camp top a council camporee with those obstacles to demonstrate what the dogs do. On the way home form camporee, they got a lost camper call and turned around to go to work. They found the camper.

[WAKWIB]

I would certainly interpret time spent planning and implenting fundraising for a specific physical project to be a part of the project itself. Just a fund-raising drive alone will not constitute a Leadership Project.

Really the only thing you can do if in doubt is consult with the District Advancement Chair. Maybe even get his definition in writing before you proceed, because there may be others on his committee who could review the project with their own opinion. Hopefully they are on the "same page".

Do not have the Scout do anything (even fundraising) before the project has been written up and before it has been approved by the District and the benefitting agency.

 

The Scout should read and re-read the workbook and follow it to the letter. It is not unusual to have to present a project more than once in order to have it approved. A lot depends on the completeness of the project description.

 

 

 

[NeilLup]

Not sure, but I believe that this information is now on the form for 2 reasons:

 

1) To give the Eagle Board some idea of the time that the Scout has spent on the project

2) To enable the BSA to add up all the numbers and put in the annual report and elsewhere "Last year, Eagle Scouts spent a total of XXXXXX hours doing their Eagle projects."

 

For both of these purposes, it would seem to the advantage of the Eagle Scout and the BSA for the number to be as large as is accurate and possible. So I would say include everything that is reasonably included as part of the project. Research time, fund raising time, consultation with others time. I would even include time working on another project which the Scout decides not to do.

 

I would be prepared to defend the number particularly if it looks goofy large, which in some cases I suspect it may well be. Total time spent on the Eagle project all factors considered can be a very big number.

 

If necessary or appropriate, consult with your District Advancement Chairman particularly if one or more members of the Advancement Committee or Board of Review can be a pain in the tail. But no one beyond that level will ever criticize the number. Rather, I suspect they would like it to be as large as possible.