Eagle Scout

Life Scout Jack B. of Troop 976 in Falls Church, VA, knew he wanted to help out the homeless for his Eagle Scout project. He reached out to the Father McKenna Center in D.C. to see if they needed help and he was able to build new shelves and hold a food drive to fill them! We sat down with Jack to learn more about this Eagle Scout project.

What inspired or motivated you to begin this project?

The project was at the Father McKenna Center, which is a homeless shelter that is located at the school that I go to, Gonzaga High School. I am in my second year as a sophomore there currently. It is a Catholic high school run by Jesuits located in downtown D.C. near Union Station, composed of students from around the D.C. area. The Father McKenna Center is the only high-school run homeless shelter in the US. I was motivated to begin this project because I had just learned about the Father McKenna Center in my freshman year, and I came across an opportunity to do an Eagle Scout project there. I met with the beneficiary of the McKenna Center, and I was given several options for an Eagle Scout project. I picked the option to design, build, and install two custom heavy duty shelves in the food pantry. After planning out the project, I also planned out a food drive to supply them with food.

What were the steps behind this project?

The first thing I did was fill out my Eagle Scout proposal, which is a form I needed to submit to a leader to be approved. On the form was what my project would be and the general idea of how I would do it. While filling it out, I had to plan out how I would build/assemble the shelves, so I worked with an experienced adult to figure out the lengths of wood, how we could cut it, and how it would be put together, and measured out the spaces where the shelves were to go. After it was approved, I continued to work on the plans, and I also planned out the food drive. When it was time to assemble the shelves, I went and bought the materials and then gathered volunteers to help assemble the shelves and bring them to the McKenna center. In the following weeks, I worked on the food drive, and sorted all the food by the fourth week. I then brought the gathered food back to the center and helped put it on the shelves.

What was the most difficult aspect of this project?

The most difficult aspect of the project was planning out the building of the shelves. It was difficult to get the accurate dimensions, and we were also assembling it in a restricted space. Before the project, I had to get the measurements of the places where we were going to put the shelves, but the floor was not even, so it was difficult getting the correct measurements there. I even messed up on one of the measurements on one of the final shelves, so we had to fix it. While assembling the shelves, we were also restricted in building it a little, since we assembled parts of the shelves at the McKenna Center.

What was your favorite aspect of this project?

My favorite aspect of the project was working with the volunteers to bring the shelves to the McKenna center. It was relieving when I was done with the planning phase of the project, and we were just bringing the shelves to the destination. The volunteers consisted of my friends, so it was nice to do that.

What did you learn from completing this project?

I learned about leadership and planning from completing the project, I learned about interaction with adults, as well as how to plan out a project fully so that there are minimal problems. I also learned about cutting screwing, and measuring wood and the different types of lumber. I mostly learned about carpentry and how to use the different techniques and tools to build the projects.

When considering possibilities for his Eagle Scout Project, Noah Ventura’s thoughts had turned to Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, where his family frequented. For two years, this project had sat on the Refuge’s Eagle Scout potential projects list, waiting for the right Scout with the proper combination of leadership, ambition, and drive to tackle the challenge. Many Scouts would hear about the logistical difficulties associated with the project, and immediately ask to hear about the next project.

Not Noah. When Noah heard about how both staff and visitors were getting lost on the approximately six miles of trails at Wood Marsh, he immediately began setting his mind on how he would pull off this project.

Noah spent over 300 hours across 10 months on the project. He cut boards down to size, sanded, drilled, embossed letters, and painted posts. He then had to navigate an additional process: The refuge archeological process.

Noah’s project was located in an area considered to be archaeologically significant. The Mason Neck peninsula had traditionally been used in the past by the Native American Dogue tribe, as well as colonialists like George Washington and George Mason, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Amy Wood, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Region 5 archeologist came out on site the day of the project installation to demonstrate and supervise the scouts in a series of archeological surveys at each of the proposed installation locations.

Braving the threat of an incoming storm, Noah and 12 other scouts installed 19 new signs in 6 different locations. “It’s a really cool project,” says Ventura. “The Woodmarsh Trail is all about connecting the community with nature, and the signs let you know where you are, so the people who use the trail know where they are trying to go.”

The project was a team effort. “I could not have done this without the help of my friends,” says Ventura. Youth volunteers from other Boys Scout Troops, Girl Scout Troops, Carl Sandburg Middle School, and Fort Hunt Elementary School helped with the project. Visitor Services Manager, Rosalind Wu, was on hand to offer assistance and lend a hand as well

Ever since he could remember, Paul had always enjoyed being part of his church community at All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, Virginia. He had always admired how big and beautiful the church was, and the welcoming community there. Paul was looking for ideas for his Eagle Scout Project when he noticed that the courtyard at his church was falling into disrepair; he saw an opportunity to do something for his community. But before he could begin repair work, COVID-19 struck.

Paul worked with his church community to reschedule and adjust his plan to follow the COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. Paul began by pulling up the displaced bricks, then leveling the dirt, and tamping it down. Then he re-enforced the base and reseated the bricks. Finally, he planted grass seed and covered it with straw to keep the new soil in place. The courtyard project went so well and smoothly, it easily survived the very rainy summer that followed planting

Paul is glad to have helped his church community in this way while creating a renewed courtyard space. Father Lee of All Saints Catholic Church remarked, “The brick and path repairs provide a much-welcomed improvement to our courtyard in the center of our church campus. Paul led a great team in doing this!”