Annabelle L from Difficult Run’s Troop 55G had her Eagle Scout project featured in the Fairfax County Park Foundation Parktakes Winter 2025 magazine!
Working with the Invasive Management Area (IMA) Volunteer Program, she rescued trees, removed invasive plants, and showed phenomenal leadership with her volunteers.
Read the full article: https://fxparks.org/e-parktakes.html
Scouts BSA Troop 58’s Grant K. painted a large mural of different explorers throughout history on a wall at the elementary school he attended: Newton-Lee Elementary School. The reason for the mural’s design is that Newton-Lee’s mascot is a compass, and the slogan is “We are Newton-Lee Explorers on a voyage to success.”
Another Scout from a different Troop who originally considered doing this mural as his Eagle project posted a survey to their fellow teachers asking which important historical explorers they would prefer to be on the wall. Grant used those historical figures selected from the survey.
With this mural featuring explorers from many different fields, backgrounds, and time periods, Grant is confident that it will help promote diversity and help students remember to explore their personal interests through brave and creative ways.
The mural is located outside the Exploratorium room, which is dedicated to exploration and encourages innovation and creativity. It took five days to paint since Grant and his group had to paint on days when the school staff was available but after hours so they didn’t disrupt the students and teachers.
After a total of 170 hours worked on this project, which includes meetings, planning, sketching, and painting, Grant completed his Eagle Scout project in early April 2024 and his Eagle Board of Review on June 3, 2024.
For his Eagle Scout project, Davis J from Troop 654 decided to help a local nonprofit focusing on food insecurity for at-risk populations better provide essential services by assessing and building a system to help them better understand their physical infrastructure.
Be the Good Project was founded in 2020 to provide food for those facing food insecurity in parts of Virginia, The District of Columbia, and Maryland. One of their programs is 25 Free Little Food Pantries distributed across 238 square miles, providing 24/7 access to food staples for those in need.
While Be the Good Project has dedicated volunteers who help keep these pantries stocked, they do not completely understand the physical status of the Free Little Food Pantries, some of which had been emplaced as long as three years ago.
Davis developed an assessment tool using a Google Form that asked volunteers to inspect a Free Little Food Pantry. His form asked questions like what the status of the paint was, whether there were holes in the roof, whether the shelves were in working order, and what the area around the pantry was like (the pantry’s accessibility).
This form then auto-populates a Google Sheet that captures the physical data about the pantries. The spreadsheet is then sortable, allowing Be the Good Project to sort the pantries by maintenance status and need for repair. This allows Be the Good to prioritize what pantries they want or need to repair with their network of volunteers, allowing them to continue their mission of providing food to those in need within the local community.
Volunteers (in groups of 2-3) from his Troop, his high school sports team, and friends in his neighborhood helped survey the 25 locations on a rolling basis over two weeks. This allowed the volunteers to complete the survey at a time that was convenient for them while simultaneously making sure all surveys were completed in a timely manner. The surveys, which included pictures of each site, were completely automated, so the only tool that his volunteers needed were their mobile phones. Each survey took about five minutes to complete, but the drive time varied because some locations were 50 minutes away.
This project took 101 hours to complete, starting July 22, 2024, to August 25, 2024. Davis completed his Eagle Board of Review on October 2, 2024.
“I really enjoyed doing this project as it allowed me to help a great local nonprofit,” Davis remarked. “The project will also have a lasting impact in my local area by helping Be the Good more efficiently provide food to those dealing with food insecurity.”
On November 7, 2024, Col. Frank Harris, III, age 100, was recognized as the oldest Marine at Quantico’s annual USMC birthday celebration. Col. Harris, a veteran of WW2, Korea, and Vietnam, has served as the Charter Organization Representative of Troop 121 for the past 20 years. He was also a Scoutmaster of the same Troop in the early 1960s.
On November 9, 2024, Gregory Bodge of Troop 907 was awarded the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Robert E. Burt Scout Volunteer Award. Nationally recognized by the SAR, this award is presented to any SAR member in good standing currently active in a Scout Unit, District, Council, or a SAR member who has displayed outstanding dedication to the Scouting program. This award aims to recognize the recipient’s outstanding service to youth through the Scouting America programs.
In the second installment of the Summer Camp Planning for Bear and Webelos Den Leaders webinar series, we hear from two experienced Cubmasters, Clare and Spencer. They cover their favorite parts of Camp Ross and the benefits they have found for their Packs, advice for parent/guardians preparing their Scouts to attend for the first time, and tips and tricks for Den Leaders and Cubmasters to recruit both adults and Scouts for a fun week of camp.
Miss the webinar? Watch the recording:
Want to catch up? Check out our previous post with the first installment in the Summer Camp Planning for Bear and Webelos Den Leaders webinar series complete with the Tool Kit: weownadventure.com/summer-camp-planning-tool-kit/
You can also find more resources on the Camp Ross webpage at www.gotogoshen.org/ross and on the Goshen Scout Reservation About page at www.gotogoshen.org/about . The video resources mentioned in the webinar can be found both on the About page as well as on the Goshen Scout Reservation YouTube channel www.youtube.com/@gotogoshen
Save the dates for upcoming webinars! All are at 7pm Eastern Time.
For current Lions and Tigers (rising Tigers and Wolves)
For current Bears and Webelos (rising Webelos and AOLs)
During the Fair Oaks Volunteer Fire Department Open House on Saturday October 12, 2024, Scouts from Troop 7 for girls and Troop 51 for boys spent the day informing the public about fire safety. In Scouting, our young people learn valuable and life-saving skills that remain with them for the rest of their lives. Along the way, they share their knowledge and skills and contribute to making our communities better places.
While serving as staff for the Open House, the Scouts BSA, which consists of middle and high school aged-youth, met the local community and provided information about smoke alarms, stop-drop-roll, creating a family meeting place, and general fire safety.
The Fair Oaks’ volunteers won Best Open House in Battalion 7 for their efforts!
One of the distinct benefits of Scouting to the community has always been the close connection between our Scouting units (called Packs, Troops, Crews, Ships, and Posts depending on the program) and the organizations and community groups that sponsor or “charter” them. Annual charter agreements with religious, community, and education organizations allow them to operate the Scouting program. These partners are provided with training, supportive materials, and direct professional service. We are grateful for the Fair Oaks Volunteer Fire Department and each of our charter partners whose objectives, mission, and methodologies match those of Scouting America. Together we are dedicated to a youth movement fostering character development, citizenship, and personal fitness for our young people.
