The Eagle Project Part 1: Core Concepts

1. The Eagle ProjectPart 1: Core Concepts - Eagle Education Experience - EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

2. This presentation is designed to assist Scouts, parents and Scout leaders with the Eagle Scout advancement process and leadership-capability enhancement. The Washington, D.C. District of the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America offers the Eagle Education Experience to empower Eagle Scout candidates with knowledge, skills and abilities that they can use to achieve the Eagle Scout rank, become stronger leaders and more effectively accomplish noble goals. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

3. A Challenge In Seven Requirements The Eagle Scout Service Project is No. 5 among the seven requirements for the Eagle Scout rank. The seven are: Be active in your BSA unit for at least six months as a Life Scout. Live by the principles of the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your daily life; list references on your Eagle Scout Rank Application. Complete a total of at least 21 merit badges, including 13 merit badges required for Eagle Scout (if multiple badges within an Eagle-required option series are earned, such as Emergency Preparedness and Lifesaving, all but one counts as an elective.) While a Life Scout, serve in your BSA unit for at least six months in an approved leadership position. Plan and implement an Eagle Scout Service Project that you lead. Complete a Scoutmaster conference (or other unit leader conference) for the Eagle Scout rank. Unanimously pass an Eagle Scout Board of Review. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

4. Eagle Projects Are Nationally Required The Eagle Scout Service Project involves an Eagle Scout candidate personally serving as the leader in planning and implementing a productive service project. The requirement, No. 5 for Eagle Scout, is as follows: “While a Life Scout, plan develop, and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to any religious institution, any school, or your community. (The project must benefit an organization other than Boy Scouting.) A project proposal must be approved by the organization benefiting from the effort, your unit leader and unit committee, and the council or district before you start. You must use the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook, No. 512-927, in meeting this requirement.” EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

5. Goals of an Eagle Project The two primary goals that an Eagle Scout candidate is expected to achieve through completing an Eagle Scout Service Project are to: Significantly benefit a community and Demonstrate that he is an effective leader When an Eagle Scout Board of Review assesses the worthiness of a candidate for the Eagle Scout rank, the members of the board significantly focus on the degrees to which the Eagle Scout candidate achieved these goals through his Eagle Scout Service Project. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

6. Eagle Projects Benefit Communities For an Eagle Scout Service Project, a Scout’s community is any group (except a Boy Scout group) of which the Scout considers himself to be a member or with which the Scout has a significant affinity. The community can be as small as a local group of just a few members and has no upper limit of size. Examples of an applicable community include but are not limited to a religious institution, a school, a veterans organization, a health organization, a pet shelter, a town, a city, a state, a country, and the whole world. The community cannot be a private, for-profit organization. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

7. Basics of Getting Started A Scout must have earned the Life Scout rank to start working on his Eagle Scout Service Project. A Scout does not need to have earned all his merit badges to begin work on the project. Planning: determining details for completing a project Implementing: enabling the plans to be enacted through work; enabling that which was planned to become real Delegating: assigning tasks to be accomplished EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

8. Leadership Aspects Leadership is the process of directing other people so that the leader and those he leads can together accomplish a goal. For the Eagle Scout Service Project, the Eagle Scout candidate is required to lead at least two volunteers in the process of completing the project. There is no maximum number of volunteers who can work on an Eagle Project. The volunteers for an Eagle Project do not need to be registered members of a Scout organization. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

9. Leadership Aspects Some Eagle Projects can be completed through an Eagle Scout candidate leading only youth volunteers. However, adults often are needed for at least some roles for Eagle Projects, especially with regard to driving youth, operating power tools and signing contracts. Eagle Projects therefore often enable Eagle candidates to gain experience leading those who are older than them. The Eagle candidate must be the primary person responsible for planning and implementing the project. Multiple Eagle candidates cannot together receive credit for one project. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

10. An Eagle Project Must: • Involve significant effort by an Eagle Scout candidate (the definition of significant effort varies based on each Eagle Scout candidate’s own abilities); • Be designed to benefit a community in at least one significant, specific way; • Be thoughtfully planned and implemented by the Eagle Scout candidate; • Enable the Eagle Scout candidate to demonstrate effective leadership skills, especially delegation; and • Be performed for a qualified beneficiary (i.e., the community for which you want to perform the project). • Be planned and implemented by one Eagle Scout candidate and not any other (i.e., multiple Eagle Scout candidates cannot jointly plan and implement an Eagle Project with regard to rank advancement.) EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

11. An Eagle Project Cannot: • Be only or predominantly a fundraiser, although a fundraiser can be conducted to support the project; • Be only or predominantly routine labor (manual labor), although this could be part of the project; • Have as its primary beneficiary the BSA; • Have as its primary beneficiary a for-profit business or commercial entity; or • Involve a component (other than submitting paperwork) that is completed after an Eagle candidate’s 18th birthday. • The entire project must be completed before the candidate’s 18th birthday. In fact, all Eagle Scout requirements except the Eagle Scout Board of Review must be completed before the 18th birthday. Eagle Scout paperwork can be submitted after the 18th birthday, but an Eagle candidate should promptly submit it after completing his Eagle Project. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

12. The Value of an Enduring Benefit • An Eagle Scout Service Project often enables a community to have a long-term, enduring benefit that is directly the result of the Eagle candidate’s leadership. • Eagle Scout projects do not need to provide a permanent benefit to a community, but communities often benefit more from projects that produce results that last for many years than from projects that benefit communities only for a very short time. It therefore is recommended for an Eagle Project to provide an enduring benefit. • Routine labor, which is maintenance labor designed to be performed on a recurring basis, cannot by itself be an Eagle Project. • Examples: washing windows, raking leaves, sweeping floors, picking up trash in an area that often is littered, minimal gardening EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

13. Fundraisers and Collection Drives • Fundraisers cannot be the sole or predominant component of an Eagle Project because: • they generally do not themselves involve the level of robust effort expected of an Eagle Project; and • when raised funds are given to a beneficiary, the beneficiary, and not the Eagle candidate, has direct leadership control over the funds to produce a community benefit. • A collection drive in which collected items are given to a beneficiary is similar to a fundraiser as it involves solicitation of donations, and if a collection drive is too simple regarding effort, it cannot be an Eagle Project. However, a collection drive can be an Eagle Project if: • the drive has an ambitious collection goal that is fulfilled to achieve the Eagle candidate’s specific objective for benefiting a community (for example, a collection of 100 duffel bags, with blankets, pillows, flashlights and books in each, to benefit children in foster homes by providing them comfortable slumber supplies and encouraging nighttime reading); and • the Eagle candidate provides leadership by delegating responsibilities for the process of collecting items and has significant control over the process EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

14. No Minimum Time Requirement • There is no required minimum amount of time that an Eagle Scout candidate is required to work on his Eagle Project. • However, the amount of time spent on planning and implementing an Eagle Project must be sufficient to accomplish the project with a high-quality result. • The vast majority of Eagle Projects involve, when considering total hours worked for planning and implementing the projects, at least 50 combined hours of service among all volunteers (these combined hours also are known as volunteer-hours or man-hours). EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

15. Overcoming the Unexpected You must demonstrate that you are able to overcome unexpected obstacles and challenges that might arise in the course of planning or implementing your project. When the unexpected occurs, you must demonstrate that you can adapt to the situation by determining, based on your resources and the needs of your project, an effective alternative course of action and implementing that alternative. For outdoor projects, it is wise to plan in advance what would be done if inclement weather prevents work on a selected work date. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

16. Selecting an Eagle Scout Project Your project should be one that you truly want to do and that you will be proud to accomplish with high quality. Based on your interests, you can research nonprofit organizations in your selected community to determine one that could benefit from your help. Oftentimes, you can implement a project to benefit your Scout unit’s sponsoring organization, as long as the primary purpose is not to benefit your Scout unit. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

17. Selecting an Eagle Scout Project • You can consult those who already have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout for their perspectives as to what you might pursue for a project and what might work well. • MOST IMPORTANTLY, you should ask a beneficiary what it wants or needs you to do for a project, as opposed to pursuing a project that the beneficiary does not necessarily want or need. • You CAN pursue a project that was someone else’s idea, as long as you personally develop the specific plans and personally lead the implementation. • An Eagle project should not be a replica of another Scout’s Eagle project, although they can be similar. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

18. Selecting an Eagle Scout Project • Oftentimes, one beneficiary can facilitate Eagle Scout Projects for multiple Eagle candidates. • If you know that a fellow Scout accomplished a project for a beneficiary and you determine that there is a viable way to add to that project in a significant way, you can ask the beneficiary about pursuing the add-on as a project. • Example: One Eagle candidate repaints the interior of a two-room schoolhouse and installs new floor tiles; another Eagle candidate repaints the exterior of the schoolhouse, refurbishes the exterior siding and plants new shrubbery around the building. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

19. Eagle Scout Projects Should be SMART Specific: there is a detailed plan for implementing the project and your leadership of the project during its implementation involves specific request Measurable: progress on the project can be tracked Attainable: the project can realistically be achieved Relevant: the project actually would help the beneficiary Timely: you have enough time to complete all the steps of the project EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

20. The CORE FOUR Types of Projects • Building/constructing a structure or facility • Refurbishing/renovating a structure or facility • Creating a long-lasting social program and establishing a plan for it to be perpetuated • Example: creating a health-awareness program for school students and arranging for it to be continued after it is implemented. • Creating a resource or group of resources that can be used for benefiting a community • Example: creating a fire-safety education video • Example: an ambitious collection drive with a specific purpose •  Some Eagle Projects are combinations of the CORE FOUR types of projects. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

21. Opportunities for Effective Leadership • YOU ARE THE MANAGER. • Create a SMART plan. • Use SMART strategies to implement the SMART plan. • Manage problems with confidence. • Use all your resources to do a high-quality job. • Fluently communicate with volunteers and advisers. • Keep accurate records, including a log of work hours. • Acquire pictures of progress. • DEMONSTRATE EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP THROUGH DELEGATING RESPONSIBILITIES and not performing all the work yourself. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

22. Project Proposal Approval Before Start • An Eagle Scout candidate must complete the Project Proposal section of his Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook and have it APPROVED before he can start implementing the project. • Four signatures of approval are needed on the Project Proposal for it to be approved: • A representative of the project beneficiary. This one should be acquired first, as it would not be prudent, after others approved the project, for the beneficiary to then not approve the project. • A unit leader (usually the scoutmaster). • A unit committee member (usually the committee chair). • Then, after the first three signatures, a district or council Eagle Scout advancement representative (usually a member of the candidate’s district Eagle Scout advancement committee). EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

23. Reviewing Your Initial Project Idea • Before you complete your Project Proposal and acquire signatures of approval for your project, you should talk with an Eagle Scout advancement representative with authority to approve your project about what you would like to do for your project. • If the Eagle advancement representative says your preliminary project idea sounds acceptable, proceed with completing the Project Proposal section of your Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook. Then, acquire signatures from the beneficiary, unit leader and unit committee and then present the completed Project Proposal workbook section to the Eagle advancement representative. • If the Eagle advancement representative says your preliminary project idea would not sufficiently work as an Eagle Project, modify your project idea or think of another, then present this changed or new idea. • If you have an Eagle Scout Service Project coach, you also should talk with your coach about your general idea for your project before working on the Project Proposal section of your workbook. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

24. D.C.’s Eagle Advancement Personnel • The National Capital Area Council has authorized each district in the council to have at least one Eagle Scout advancement representative who determines certain procedures applicable to Scouts in the district with regard to approval of the Project Proposal, submission of the Eagle Scout Rank Application and completed Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook and conducting Eagle Scout Boards of Review. • The Washington, D.C. District of the Boy Scouts of America has two district Eagle Scout advancement representatives, also referred to as Eagle Scout advancement coordinators, or Eagle Scout coordinators. • For Scouts whose unit is based in the northwest or northeast quadrants of Washington, D.C., the Eagle Scout coordinator is Joan Sharkey, who can be contacted at joansharkey@aol.com or at (202) 362-9149. • For Scouts whose unit is based in the southwest or southeast quadrants of Washington, D.C., the Eagle Scout coordinator is Patrick Merkle, who can be contacted at pgmerkle@aol.com or at (202) 255-7470. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

25. Recruiting An Eagle Project Coach • Each Eagle Scout candidate has the option of recruiting an adult volunteer to work with him as an Eagle Project coach. Many Eagle Scout candidates successfully complete their Eagle Project without a coach, but some candidates choose to have one. To serve as an Eagle coach, one should be either an Eagle Scout or otherwise familiar with the Eagle Scout advancement process. An Eagle Project coach: • can help an Eagle Scout candidate understand aspects of the Eagle Scout Service Project process and offer advisement for the process, but cannot plan or lead any part of the project, as those are responsibilities of the Eagle Scout candidate; • can review an Eagle candidate’s Project Proposal before the candidate presents it for signed approvals; and • can review the Project Final Plan before the project starts. • The National Capital Area Council does not require coaches to fill out an Eagle Scout Service Project Coach Application for approval. Instead, an Eagle candidate must ask for his unit leader’s approval of an Eagle Project coach designee for that designee to serve as the coach. Eagle Scout coaches must be registered with the BSA and current in Youth Protection Training. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

26. More Resources for Getting Started • In addition to the slide presentations of the Eagle Education Experience and attending a live Eagle Education Experience session, Eagle candidates can consult the following resources that can help them get started on the Eagle Project process and learn more in general about Eagle Scout advancement: • Eagle Scouts from their troop or Order of the Arrow chapter • The National Capital Area Council’s Eagle Scout Information page: • www.ncacbsa.org/advancement/eagle-scout-information/ • The BSA Guide to Advancement’s sections on the Eagle Scout advancement process (Section 9, The Eagle Scout Rank, and Section 8.0.3, Board of Review Particulars for the Eagle Scout Rank): • Accessible at the BSA’s Advancement Resources page: • www.scouting.org/Home/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/Resources.aspx • The National Eagle Scout Association (NESA)’s list of Notable Eagle Projects: • www.nesa.org/projects.html EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

27. National, Council, District Standards • In general, the requirements and required procedures for the Eagle Scout rank, including the requirements and required procedures for the Eagle Scout Service Project, are defined by BSA National (the National Council of the BSA, based in Irving, Texas). • Establishment of certain details regarding Eagle Scout advancement, such as certain procedures regarding how Eagle Project Proposals are approved, how Eagle Scout advancement paperwork is processed and how Eagle Scout Boards of Review are conducted, has been delegated by BSA National to the local BSA councils, and some councils have further delegated the responsibility for establishing these details to districts within those councils. All details established this way must be in accordance with the requirements established by BSA National. This has caused limited variations in procedures for Eagle Scout advancement to exist among BSA councils and districts within councils. All presentations of the Eagle Education Experience of the Washington, D.C. District of the BSA specify the BSA National requirements for Eagle Scout advancement and, when applicable, identify details specific to Eagle Scout candidates with units of the Washington, D.C. District of the National Capital Area Council of the BSA, based in Bethesda, Maryland. • BSA National requirements, and procedures established by councils and districts that are in accordance with those requirements and that are designed to assist in their fulfillment, cannot be augmented, adjusted or negated by Eagle candidates, unit chartered organizations, project beneficiaries, unit leaders, unit committees, or others. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA

28. Discussion and Questions EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – WASHINGTON, D.C. DISTRICT, NCAC, BSA