On a sunny Saturday morning, nine Boy Scouts belonging to Troop 544 of Peoples Congregational UCC of the NCAC Council, in Washington DC, received the rank of Eagle Scout. This event took place at Northeastern Presbyterian Church, and it was truly wonderful as each Scout gave speeches about their journey in scouting, and were given awards in the presence of parents, family and friends.
The nine Scouts that achieved this rank were Brandon Hall, Xavier Scott, Joshua Simpson, Jamir Grier, James Marcus Hall, Charles Brown II, Benjamin Evans, Spencer Fridie, and Greyson Thrower. Under the direction of Scoutmaster Robert Simpson and other Parent Leaders, these young men have worked hard, over many years, to learn life skills and mature as young adults as they progressed through the ranks of Scouting.
Troop 544 is a historically African American troop that was started 90 years ago. Despite the underrepresentation of African American males who have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the US, Troop 544 has the distinction of having 58 Boy Scouts who have earned the Eagle Scout designation. What is even more remarkable is that this class of nine Scouts achieved the rank of Eagle Scout during the pandemic.
Here’s a list of the new Eagles and their service projects:
- Brandon H. – Buddy Weekend: Went to senior citizen nursing homes to play games with and provided lunches and prizes too them on multiple weekends.
- Xavier S. – Helping Hands: Assembled volunteers to do yard cleanup and various household chores for seniors in his neighborhood.
- Jamir G. – Technology for Seniors: Held two weekends of sessions that provided technology training (i.e. cellphones, tablets, etc.) to seniors at different churches.
- Marcus H. – Dog Poop Stations: Constructed a “Dog Poop Station” in front of his church.
- Charles B. – Beautification Project for South Manor in DC: Led a group of volunteers to install various plantings in a neighborhood area in need of cleaning.
- Joshua S. – Supplies for Seniors: Created activity bags for residents of senior nursing homes which included a variety of items too keep them entertained during the pandemic which limited their visitors.
- Benjamin E. – Washington Yu Ying Rain Garden: Eco friendly project that had him plant plants to stop erosion at the hill of his former elementary school.
- Spencer F. – SEGL Sick Room: Built a wellness and recovery center at his high school which included installing cabinetry, bed, etc.
- Greyson T. – Little Libraries: Built little libraries at various multi family housing developments.
Congratulations, gentlemen! We are very proud of you all. If you would like information about joining Troop 544, please feel free to contact Scoutmaster Robert Simpson at rob@robsgroup.com or Jonathan Simpson, at jonathansimpson786@gmail.com.
Submitted by: Jonathan Simpson
The suggestion to light up the path was actually pitched by the community itself. The path at night is awfully dark, but many people still use it. The 10 Solar LEDs were placed on the post as a way to have renewably powered lights to keep the community safe at night. These LEDs are dim enough to avoid blinding, but bright enough to make the path visible. This way, everyone can enjoy the path both in the day, and safely at night.
On Saturday, August 22, 2020, Micah of Troop 1237, passed his Eagle Scout Rank Board of Review and achieved his goal of becoming a 13 year old Eagle Scout. Micah not only earned the honor by completing the project, providing countless hours of community service, and displaying leadership, but he also earned twice as many merit badges than required and several scouting awards as well. This has been his goal since he became a Cub Scout in second grade. He quickly took to scouting, determined to earn every pin and award available to him. There was a point when he recruited so many new scouts, that a special patch was created just for him!