Troop, Church or Council Sponsored Service Projects

Service for Rank Advancement

Star and Life Ranks:

A Scout must perform six hours of service to others. This may be done as an individual project or as a member of a patrol or troop project. Scoutmaster approval for ALL service hours and projects must be obtained before it is started. All service hours for a specific rank MUST be completed during the period working for the rank. (Extra hours completed while working for Star cannot be used towards Life. Once Star rank is earned, the six new hours begin.)

Troop sponsored projects: Eagle Projects
Council/National Sponsored projects: Scouting for Food
Organizations & Charities that are partners with Troop 31:
Walk4Hearing
Our Lady of Lourdes & Seton Catholic School fall/spring clean-up
Third Presbyterian Church Spring clean-up
East Avenue Grocery Run
Soup Kitchens and Shelter

If service hours are required by your school, hours CANNOT be used for both organizations, generally referred to as “double-counting.” Participation in a Troop Fundraising event (e.g. Christmas Tree Sales) is NOT considered service hours since you directly benefit from working your shifts (in the form of Massawepie and Spring trip subsidies, campouts, program, etc.).

Once completed, all service hours are required to be logged into the Scout’s Handbook and to be signed off by the SM (not an ASM or high Ranking Scout). The Scout must notify the Troop Administrator to have Troopmaster updated accordingly. In order to advance to either Star or Life, scouts must prepare a type written narrative describing their service hours for their SM Conference and BOR. The narrative should simply provide details surrounding when the service occurred, the number of hours, what was the service, how it benefited the community, who was it for and how did it make the scout think or feel.

Eagle Rank:

While a Life Scout, a Scout must plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project to any religious institution, school, or community.
As a demonstration of leadership, the Scout must plan the work, organize the personnel needed, secure building materials and direct the project to its completion.
The Eagle service project is an individual matter; therefore, two Eagle candidates may not receive credit for the same project.
Eagle Scout leadership service projects involving council property or other BSA activities are not acceptable for an Eagle service project.
The service project also may not be performed for a business, be of a commercial nature, or be a fund-raiser.
Routine labor, or a job or service normally rendered, should not be considered.
An Eagle service project should be of significant magnitude to be special and should represent the candidate's best possible effort.

The Scout must submit his proposed project plan and secure the prior approval of his unit leader, unit committee, and district or council advancement committee, and the organization benefiting from the effort, to make sure that it meets the stated standards for Eagle Scout leadership service projects before the project is started. This pre-approval of the project does not mean that the board of review will accept the way the project was carried out.

Upon completion of the project, a detailed report must be submitted with the Scout's Eagle application to include the following information:

What was the project?
How did it benefit others?
Who from the group benefiting from the project gave guidance?
Who helped carry out the project?
What materials were used and how were they acquired?

Although the project plan must be approved before work is begun, the Board of Review must determine if the project was successfully carried out. Questions that must be answered are:

Did the candidate demonstrate leadership of others?
Did he indeed direct the project rather than do all of the work himself?
Was the project of real value to the religious institution, school, or community group?
Who from the group benefiting from the project may be contacted to verify the value of the project?
Did the project follow the plan, or were modifications needed to bring it to its completion?

A the work on the project must be done while the candidate is a Life Scout and before the candidate's 18th birthday.

The variety of projects performed throughout the nation by Scouts earning their Eagle Scout Award is staggering. Only those living in an area can determine the greatest value and need for that area. Determine, therefore, whether the project is big enough, appropriate, and worth doing. For ideas and opportunities, the Scout can consult people such as school administrators, religious leaders, local government department directors, or a United Way agency's personnel.