We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

eagle scout project

Local Life Scout Mobilized his Community to Save Ukrainian Lives

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My name is Nicholas Flanigan and I am a Life Scout from Troop 160, located in Chantilly, VA. Soon after the war started, I mobilized our Troop and community to help meet overwhelming needs in medical supplies, baby items, and food for Ukraine.

When the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February 0f 2022, one of my close friends shared concerns about his family in Kyiv, Ukraine, and the hardship they had to face to survive from Russian bombing of their homes and neighborhood. I started thinking about how I might be able to help. My research led to a local nonprofit organization, United Help Ukraine (UHU). This charitable organization receives and distributes donations, food, and medical supplies to people of Ukraine affected by Russia’s invasion and families of those wounded or killed for freedom and independence of Ukraine.

I reached out to the Board members of this organization in March of 2022, inquiring how I could help. After a month of conversations and successful presentations to over 20 Board members of UHU, District Eagle Advisor, and Troop 160 Board, my project was approved for planning and execution. My Eagle Advisor recommended I develop a website that allowed me to promote my project within the local community. Website presence helped me to distribute messages about my project via email, in social channels, and local blogs. Because of the valuable advice from my Eagle Advisor I looked into online presence rather than going down the path of distributing many printed flyers, which allowed me to save total costs.

In my research, I discovered that many tech companies like Google, Microsoft/Bing, and Facebook offer opportunities for people supporting nonprofit-related initiatives to receive credits to run free advertising. I took advantage of those free advertising credits to run ads on these digital networks to get my project known throughout the community. I also used local blogs and platforms, Patch.com and NextDoor, to inform my neighbors about this effort.

My project took many months to plan. I spent over 300 hours developing the site, made digital ads, wrote articles, and reached out to many local organizations and nearby Troops for help. I partnered with a local church, Fairfax Church of Christ, to use their building and parking lot for my donation drive. I also led my Troop to distribute printed flyers in adjacent neighborhoods to amplify my online efforts. Just under 100 people helped me to make this project a success.

My project was completed on 2 weekends. On June 4th, many scouts, volunteers from the church, and parents helped to pack supplies previously donated to the church to support this effort. They packed and loaded over 100 boxes to a truck ready to take everything to an airport in Delaware for air shipment to Ukraine. We packed almost 80 boxes of food, baby items and medical supplies, and collected 70 boxes of diapers. On the same day, almost 20 scout volunteers from Troup 160 distributed over 3,000 flyers to neighborhood houses. On June 11th, we collected donated medical supplies, baby items, and food essentials from the same houses. My goal to collect and pack an additional 40 boxes was exceeded with a total of 55 additional boxes, despite poor weather conditions and heavy rain at collection time.

I am very proud of the work my Troop and I did because of its impact and because it helped to save lives. I want people to know about the work that takes place to support Ukraine and other countries in the same circumstances around the world.

I received many compliments and recognition for our efforts from my Troop, local leaders, the media, and UHU. My project was featured in the National Morning in America episode on May 27th as one of the top feel-good stories across the U.S. and covered in the local Fairfax Times newspaper and by Patch.com.

As a result of my efforts, I received a personalized letter from Chairman McKay from Fairfax County Government. In his letter, Chairman McKey congratulated me on the tremendous success of my project and how impressed he was with my commitment to helping others. He recognized my leadership skills for being able to gather dozens of fellow scouts, friends, and neighbors to help accomplish this goal. Of course it was easier with a helpful Troup backing me up!

“It is true that we all do far better when we work together”, stated Chairman McKay in his letter. “I am encouraged about the future of Fairfax County and our nation when I read what young people like you are doing to heal the breaches in our society.”

I hope to receive my Eagle Rank in October after completing the last Eagle-required merit badge, Scoutmaster conference, and the Eagle Scout Board of Review. I will continue my role in scouting as an ASPL, giving back to my Troop by helping and leading others. I am a proud member of the Order of the Arrow BSA Honor society and participated in 3 high adventure camps. Throughout my scouting career, I earned 77 merit badges, and seven distinguished scout awards. I also volunteered as a Counselor in Training this past summer at Camp Snyder, a BSA camp in Haymarket, VA, and will return to the camp as their trained Counselor next summer.

A Better Pool

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Ethan T. of Troop 1966 in Fairfax Station, VA, has always been an avid swimmer. In fact, for the past ten years, he has been part of the Sideburn Run Swim Team, which is nearly as long as he had been a Scout. So when Ethan was looking for an Eagle Scout Project, he learned that Sideburn Run’s pool had some overgrown ivy area. While he was inspecting the ivy-covered area, Ethan recalled the times he and his teammates had found the space too small. Ethan began to consider incorporating a way to make the area around the pool more usable while for his teammates while he inspected the ivy. After consulting the board members, he decided he would clean up the ivy and clean up the area so the team could maximize it.

Ethan got to work by writing up a proposal for the pool board. Once they approved his proposal, he created a timeline, yet that timeline got put on hold due to COVID-19. Yet once restrictions were lifted, and Ethan drafted a new plan that followed social distancing rules. Ethan then began to gather the supplies, and he got to work. He found some trouble trying to lead at first. He realized he couldn’t just explain and then do the task to his volunteers; he discovered that he would only do the work. He also felt overwhelmed by the number of questions he would receive, asking if he could assist them. Yet once he figured out how to properly guide his volunteers, Ethan felt like he could handle anything.

After completing this project, Ethan felt he learned a lot about leadership and how to break down a large project into manageable parts. He was proud to have helped his community and later said, “My favorite aspect of this project was seeing all the different tasks coming together. I enjoyed stepping back to see the progress we had made and how all the tasks were coming together. I also enjoyed seeing my plans turn out exactly how I envisioned the project would look in the end. I am looking forward to next season so people can start using the new area. I feel like the swim team can now fully maximize that area during their meets, and members can enjoy the games we made.”

Bikes for the World

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Dhruv S. of Troop 1983 in Oakton, VA, is an avid biker. He knows how great a bike can be not only for leisure but also for practical uses such as transportation. So when Dhruv heard Bikes for the World was looking for volunteers, he jumped at the opportunity. Bikes for the World is an organization that collects, refurbishes, and ships bikes to impoverished communities around the world. He loved volunteering at their warehouse and seeing the pictures of people enjoying the bikes they had received. Dhruv wanted to contribute more to that happiness when people received their bikes, so for his Eagle Scout project, he decided to hold a bike drive with a goal to collect 50 bikes.

Dhruv began by designing flyers to reach out to his community about the collection drive. He posted them throughout his town and in nearby shopping centers. He also shared a digital version of the poster on Nextdoor and Facebook to reach even more people. Then Dhruv began to receive messages. Some people were able to drop off their bikes during the scheduled collection time. For those who couldn’t, he picked up their bikes ahead of time and stored them in his garage. On the day of the drive, Dhruv and some friends transported the bikes from the garage to the site at Vale United Methodist Church, his troop’s sponsoring organization, and the bike drive officially began. It lasted for five hours, and Dhruv managed to collect 130 bikes! They collected so many bikes that the truck that came to pick them up couldn’t contain them all. Dhruv quickly taught his volunteers how to disassemble the bikes so they could fit in the truck.

Having completed his project and sent these bikes to their new homes, Dhruv said, “ I enjoyed leading and teaching my friends how to disassemble the bikes, and I heard from them that it was a rewarding and satisfying process. I learned the value of time management by setting timelines and schedules for myself to make sure I was on track. I also learned the value of good communication through teaching my volunteers effectively how to prep the bikes. All in all, I think it was a successful project!”

Maryland Teen Joins First Female Inaugural Class of Eagles

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On October 28th 2020, BSA Troop 1268 of New Market, MD celebrated its first female Eagle Scout. Ashlyn Cooper of New Market, MD became one of the first class of female Eagle Scouts in the country after successfully completing her Eagle Scout board of review. She joined BSA the very first day that BSA opened up their Scouting program to female youth in February 2019 and completed her Eagle rank work in Sept 2020. She has embraced the program with 100% passion, having logged 48 camping nights, 160 miles of hiking, 200 service hours, 39 merit badges, 5 summer camps, serving as the troop’s first Senior Patrol Leader, attending and then joining staff for the BSA’s National Youth Leadership Training, and being inducted into the Order of the Arrow. Through all of this, Ashlyn’s excitement about sScouting only continues to grow and become infectious to others in the troop. This journey for Ashlyn is not over at Eagle. She plans to continue to earn Eagle Palms, having already earned 3 and has a goal of 60 merit badges by the time she turns 18. She will also now be taking on a bigger role within the Troop as a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, and will be encouraged to become an even stronger leader.

Ashlyn comes from a long lineage of Scouting. Her grandmother was the first female leader for her uncle’s BSA Troop many years ago when he was in Scouts, her grandfather was a Sea Scout leader, her father is Scout Master of the Scouts BSA troop 268 linked to her Scouts BSA Troop 1268G and her older brother is also an Eagle Scout.

We congratulate Ashlyn on all she has achieved and will continue to help her to achieve more.

For more information on our program, please visit www.troop1268.org.

 

Eli Glickman’s Eagle Project for the Library of Congress

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Eli Glickman’s Eagle Project is so innovative and interesting that I wanted to submit it to Scouter Digest so others could hear about it. Here is Eli’s own description of his project:

“Personal stories are a treasure trove of information, they offer perspective, reflection, and first-person experience. That’s ultimately why I selected oral history as the background for my Eagle project. I had heard about another project done in my Troop by a Scout who has since graduated, Scott Burns, where he interviewed World War II veterans about their experiences in the War. I wanted to focus less on actual wartime and more on the process of returning home that veterans undergo. I felt that this was part of most veterans’ stories that is seldom discussed in society and that it deserved attention. I then got in touch with the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress which was the ultimate beneficiary for my project. After that a group of Scouts and I reached out to several veterans whose contact info we received through Troop connections; I later reached out to the American Legion to get a complete 10 veterans to interview, their help in coordinating and establishing these contacts was tremendously beneficial to the success of my project. After that the Scouts and I coordinated a plan to conduct the interviews, focusing on hearing as much of each veteran’s story as possible and learning about their reflections on their experiences. The result of the project was incredibly rewarding, the Scouts and I learned not only stories from these veterans but how to better empathize and interact with veterans we see on a daily basis.”

A Home For Our Feline Friends

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I have been volunteering with Operation Hood for the past few years. Operation Hood helps feral cats; I was initially drawn to them because of my love for cats. So when looking for ideas for my Eagle Scout Project, I decided to help Operation Hood by making cat houses.
I originally had the idea in March, but due to COVID-19, I couldn’t begin until mid-July. During that time, I decided to reuse some old cat houses my grandfather had in storage rather than start from scratch. We also converted old dog boxes that needed to be cleaned, sanitized, and painted. After about three days of hard work transferring the cat houses to my house and then to Operation Hood, I finally could start the project. The hardest part of the project was working around the weather. Everything was planned out, but unfortunately, it began to rain a lot, like every weekend. We had to work around it. Eventually, we had to bring out canopies so we could start working on putting the fronts on the houses, staining the houses, and building the cat tree. Then we had to postpone painting the wooden ramps until the following weekend due to the rain.

This project was harder than I thought it would be. I had to figure out how to relay the ideas that I had on paper and in my head to my Scout volunteers. The project helped me with my leadership, planning, and communication skills. I also learned to plan for anything, especially the weather. During this project, some of our wood was cut wrong as well, so we had to adjust our plans slightly.

I found my favorite aspect of the project was giving back to an organization that I truly believe in. They are doing such great work and care so much for the cats. It was a wonderful feeling seeing (within 5 minutes of completing the project) cats utilizing what we just built. It made the project worth it.