Eagle Service Project Ideas

First off, it is not the project itself, but it is the leadership that the Scout give to his project that is of most importance. Also be careful not to judge one Scout's project against another.

Here are a few projects done in recent times:

1.	Build playground equipment for a local city park
2.	Clean up an old cemetery lot
3.	Paint fence for a church
4.	Build nature trail and other improvements for local GS camp
5.	Cleanup lot for handicapped person
6.	Paint and cleanup city park
7.	Adopt a trail: Organize the other boys in the troop and their families if appropriate, and spend a Saturday repairing, cleaning up, etc. some nature trail area. This can be quite a project if ramada repair, trail bridges, paths have eroded, etc.
8.	A carwash (or series of them) to raise money for the homeless, a needy child abuse center, etc. (One Saturday can net $2‑300)
9.	Toy drives, raising dogs for the disabled etc.
10.	Tutoring a class (students) in math, social studies, English
11.	Forming a group to tackle some sort of community problem or issue
12.	"Old medicines" collection and destruction
13.	Work with disabled adults or children (more the latter than the former)
14.	Identification and relabeling of street numbers, signs, damaged street signs
15.	Rearrangement/recataloging/reshelving of library assets (which could include going to the community to get old books donated)
16.	Painting of church exterior/landscaping/rearrangement of church area to provide more space
17.	Organization of a community yard‑sale or garage sale at local military armory (with proceed to local charity (not the Troop or BSA) )
18.	Identification of handicapped accession points in city...and assisting city with signage for key businesses and civic buildings
19.	Organization of a "community action committee" to solve community issues and leadership of a youth group to advise the committee
20.	Reading stories to preschool or kindergarten children once a week for the entire semester/serving as "resource assistant" (go‑for) for one semester
21.	Assisting fire department in repainting and surveying fire hydrants, connectors, and other emergency items
22.	Developing a plan to house people in the event of a tornado or other natural or man‑made disaster
23.	Assisting a community with leadership for Scout Troop (not serving as a leader...going to recruit and find adults for the unit) (be careful on this one...the young man that did this one got his application reviewed twice before his badge was awarded...the problem was "did the event assist Scouting or the community?" He wrote it as assisting the community and the local Council agreed.)
24.	Taking older adults/moms/dads to and from shopping points and doctor's offices
25.	Serving as “welcome wagon” host for three months, welcoming new families and businesses to community
26.	Using a personal computer, conducting and evaluating the results from a community‑wide survey put together by the Scout and community leaders 
27.	Arranging to provide blankets, old jackets, etc for homeless people when temperature reaches below freezing.
28.	Clear building rubble from a site owned by Edisto Indian Association. A medical clinic (for association use) will be constructed on the site. Dozer, trucks, operators donated by a troop dad
29.	Two Scouts doing separate projects at church. Essentially church swapped materials for a few weeks of grass cutting etc (normally done by an *understanding* outside contractor. mediation garden, or border and woodchips around preschool playground
30.	Clearing underbrush at church, bringing in fill dirt for picnic area, construction of tables. Dirt and dozer donated (same troop dad), wood for tables purchases with "free" carwash ‑‑ donation requested
31.	Mayday carnival for kids through age 10. Materials borrowed from community center. Entry fee was two cans of food for food bank. Funds raised from tickets to play games went to food bank
32.	Move a swing set. Neighborhood association was "given" a large wooden swing set by a new resident with no children -- attractive nuisance in his yard. Moved to playground in subdivision. Also repaired tables and other play equipment in playground. funds for cement, etc., from association.
33.	Design and build educational games for learning disabled students. 
34.	Straighten grave markers and fill‑in pot holes in road at County Cemetery. 
35.	Set up Disaster Response Plan with local ARC and Scouting, do mock event. 
36.	Design and build historical display for local museum. 
37.	Do landscaping project for local park. 
38.	Build patio area for local nursing home. 
39.	Plant trees for forest preserve district. 
40.	Dinner welcoming international students at university. 
41.	Clean up and painting project for church. 
42.	Clean up city parking lots after winter snow melt. 
43.	Set up historical trail through town and write brochure. 
44.	Paint 100 picnic tables for park district. 
45.	Transplant large trees at forest preserve. 
46.	Design, build, and install flag holders for light posts for city. 
47.	Restoration work for native prairie at forest preserve. 
48.	Clean and paint light booth at local high school. 
49.	Work with mentally handicapped students through custom designed program. 
50.	Correct water erosion problem at public park. 
51.	Create and implement program to record church services and deliver to shut ins. 
52.	Paint house and garage of elderly woman. 
53.	Design & build conservation education unit for forest preserve. 
54.	Build handicapped trail with posts for braille plaques at forest preserve. 
55.	Organize and conduct river clean up campaign. 
56.	Clean up and repair children's playground. 
57.	Rehab old bikes to donate to underprivileged children. 
58.	Repaint World War II army tank (local monument) 
59.	Build nesting platforms for Canadian Geese for forest preserve. 
60.	Grade pond banks to control erosion, map pond, stock with fish. 
61.	Oak savannah restoration project at local forest preserve. 
62.	Sometimes, fingerprinting drives, aimed at elementary school children, can be managed. Also, videotaping kids for parents as a tool to aid in finding lost kids maybe a possibility. 
63.	Blood drives have been used by some scouts in the past. 
64.	Landscaping and improving the quality of local schools. Help to build playground equipment.
65.	One of the most interesting ideas was suggested by the son of one of my colleagues at the University of North Carolina. The Eagle Project would be an AIDS and STD awareness program and brochure to be prepared for the North Carolina High School of the Performing Arts (don’t hold me to the exact title). Paul's reasoning was that this was a high risk group and would benefit. 
66.	Magazine drives for hospitals. 
67.	One idea that I have often heard of that really helps out the community is in helping out the Fire Department. In some areas, the house numbers my be difficult to see. What could be done to help eliminate this is to paint the house numbers right on the curbs in front of the houses. This could also be used to help EMS and police in finding certain addresses.
68.	In communities in the north, where there is snow on the curbs in winter, the house numbers can be painted on the street light, and/or utility poles. You have to get permission from your town utility people, but it can be done. Granted, it doesn't cover every house, but it help to narrow down the search on a dark winter night. Also try to get "reflective" paints. It will cost a little more, but it is worth it if it helps save one life!
69.	But the snow up here in "Yankee" land DOES cover fire hydrants, and the fire departments are quite cooperative with programs, and plans that mark them for the winter, and/or repaint the hydrants!
70.	The boys went to a local nursing home with tape recorders, photo albums, paper and pens in hand. They helped residents sort through photos, put them in albums and mark them. They recorded stories and memories and after "their" resident died, each boy made a booklet of those stories (desktop publishing). At the funerals, the boys gave the tapes and booklets to the family. It has become a permanent project, even though the 'boys' are in their 30's!
71.	Make a wheelchair garden area for a nursing or convalescent home. The garden is basically a large planter raised to a height and constructed in such a way so people in wheelchairs can tend it from the chairs. 
72.	A fall cleanup of several shut‑ins homes.
73.	Design, build and place 25 squirrel nesting boxes at Piney Run Park in Carroll County. 
74.	Make doll houses for the Kennedy Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital. This project requires highly skilled labor and a tremendous amount of equipment. 

Other comments

 	Be very careful with "fund rasing" project. Our district had a scout work with a volunteer paramedic team (like volunteer firemen) to coordinated the distribution of flyers. The flyers publicized the paramedics services and the need for funds to buy a new and up to date paramedic vehicle and equipment. The project was a huge success, the paramedics got the vehicle, the kid got his picture in the paper, and got a scholarship from some other YOUTH organization, as an outstanding young American! However, the picture was not in scout UNIFORM because BSA turned down the project, because it was a “fund raiser”. The scout found this out about have way into the project, and elected to complete it anyway. He has since got his Eagle after coordinating collection of can goods for a local "soup kitchen" and preparing and serving meals at the kitchen. 

 	One of the troops in my council had a scout that had big ideas for his project. He was going to get car donated, raffle it away, and give the proceeds to the Little Sisters Of The Poor, a non‑for‑profit catholic group. His Scoutmaster didn’t think he could get a car so he didn’t contact the District Advancement board to have it approved. Well, the scout he got the car donated and went to work on selling chances. He even got his name in the paper. It happened that some one from the Council office read that article, and the Advancement Committee called and told his Scoutmaster NO. It’s gambling and you can’t do that. But it was almost raffle time. So he went through with it and made almost $28,000 for the Little Sisters. That story also made it to the paper and didn’t make the BSA look very good. 

 	The Scout that did that service project not only helped the local historical society but also made a lot of people there very happy!!

One of the Explorers in my Post went to an "old folks home" to do a similar type project for a class assignment. What she recorded was not just one person but several people's recollections of how things were in a younger Richmond. She came back and asked if we could do a similar project, locating old Scouters to tell their story. Her boyfriend  and her (who was one of the officers of the Post) went over 900 miles around central Kentucky recording people who have served as Scouters in the 40s and 50s (most of our councils were organized in the 40s...). Those tapes are at the National Scouting Museum and I believe can be loaned out to whoever wanted to hear them.

Because both of them were over 21, they could not earn the Exploring Achievement Award....so, they just settled with being appointed as Kentucky Colonels, the highest civil honor a Governor can bestow on a citizen of the Commonwealth. Bottom line: A Service project DOES NOT have to be for a badge...it can be done for the spirit it was intended to be; to learn, to lead, to share. (and to love).

 	You need to face reality concerning the kind of support you can expect. The bulk of your work force will be 11 to 13 yr. of age. There are limits on what these guys can handle. This is why many scouts pick Howard County Parks and Recreation Department as source of projects. You may call them to get park supervisors who can suggest projects. This is also why there are so many “mulch humping” projects.