Eagle Scout Guide Historic Troop 2 Riverside, California Best in the West since 1923 Introduction Troop 2 has a long history of preparing young men to meet the challenges of becoming an Eagle Scout. Part of the culture of Troop 2 is that every scout expects to earn the Eagle rank. This guide is intended to provide advice and suggestions, based on the experience of Eagle Scouts and adult troop leaders. It is not intended to modify the official publications or regulations of the Boy Scouts of America. The official requirements cannot be modified by the troop, district, council or any adult leader. The Eagle Process The Eagle process begins long before you reach Life rank. Many scouts begin thinking about Eagle project ideas years before they actually face the challenge. You undoubtedly have ideas about your Eagle project. Those ideas are probably a good starting point for the project, but keep an open mind and consider suggestions to help you succeed with your project. But the Eagle process is more than a project. You have other requirements merit badges, leadership positions, and a Board of Review that are also required before can earn the Eagle Scout rank. Those requirements also require your early attention to avoid problems and delays. Eagle Advisors Troop 2 has identified a group of adult leaders that will provide guidance and advice to help scouts advance from Life to Eagle. This group of advisors, with the help of other Troop 2 Eagle Scouts, parents and adult leaders are available to answer questions, review draft proposals and applications and conduct mock boards of review. 1
First Steps Before you do anything else, READ: 1. The Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook. The current version of the Workbook can be found on the BSA website at Advancement Resources www.scouting.org/scoutsource/boyscouts/advancementandawards/resources.aspx 2. The most current Guide to Advancement published by BSA, and particularly the section on the Eagle Scout Rank. The current can be found at the same location on BSA s website. 3. The official Eagle Scout Rank application, also available on the BSA website. Once you read these materials, many of your questions will be answered, and you will have a much better understanding of the process and what will be expected from you. Reading these materials will also likely raise new questions. This is the time to meet with your Eagle Advisor to discuss those questions, and the Eagle process generally. At some point in the process, the council will need to verify the information in your Eagle Scout application. That information includes your merit badges, rank advancement dates, leadership positions, as well as other information. It is better to verify that information early in the process, rather than encounter a problem that cannot be corrected due to lack of time. (For example, if the council records are incomplete, and the council cannot verify that you have earned the Personal Fitness merit badge, you may need 90 days to re earn that merit badge) If you are not already doing so, you need to gather all of your records regarding merit badges, advancement and leadership positions, so that you can provide those records to correct any errors. As early in the process as possible, contact the council office to obtain a copy of your official record. Once you have the record, check each detail and be prepared to provide documentation for any information that is incomplete or incorrect. The Eagle Project Be mindful about the rules concerning Eagle projects before you do anything related to your project. You do not need to wait until you have finished other requirements, such as earning all of your merit badges, to begin your project planning and approval process. You are allowed to begin that process after you have earned Life rank which is official upon completion of your Life Board of Review. However, there are certain actions that you cannot take before your project is approved. Consult with your advisor and read the relevant material before taking any action on your project. Eagle Project Selection The Eagle project can benefit any worthy entity that is not BSA related. In other words, you cannot complete a project to benefit the council, your district, your troop, a Cub Scout pack, 2
your OA lodge or BSA owned summer camp. The project also cannot be for the benefit of a business or individual. That leaves innumerable options, including, for example, cities, the county, churches, little league, schools, animal shelters, homeless or domestic violence shelters, and many more. If you have a question about the group that will benefit from your proposed project, ask early. Often, a small change in the scope of a project can solve a problem if caught early enough. Your project does not have to be original. You may not be the first scout to think of your particular idea. However, you must plan your project. For example, many Eagle project ideas are available from online sources. You are free to search and consider those ideas. But you may not then download a pre-prepared plan for completing the project. Project Planning Your project will need to be approved by at least two groups: the BSA and the benefiting organization. Keep in mind that getting these approvals may require modifications to your plan or a lengthy approval process. For example, a project for a government entity school, city, fire station, etc, - will take longer to get approved than a project for a small charitable organization such as a church or shelter. Your project might require building permits, or other details that are subject to review. You will need to consider these issues and make sure that you allocate enough time in your plan to get the required approvals. You will also need to consider the source of your labor. You are the project manager. The Eagle project is intended to demonstrate your ability to lead others. You will need to recruit, coordinate and supervise your volunteers. You may recruit anybody to help. Your workers are not required to be scouts. Whoever your volunteers are, consider their availability when you are planning your project. For example, scouts may be more available during the summer, during spring break or other times school is not in session. Adults may me more available on weekends or in the evening, depending on work schedules. Also be mindful of scheduling conflicts. There are only so many weekends in each year, and many of them are already committed to your troop s events and outings. Holidays will take away other available work days. Other scouts in your troop may also be planning service projects that will limit the availability of scouts and adults from your troop. Project Approval Before starting, you may want to go to a project approval meeting to get a feel for what is expected. These are held twice a month in the district. To get dates and times, send an e-mail to the Eagle Scheduler (see contact info in the workbook) requesting the information. Your project must be approved by a district committee before you begin working on it or fundraising for it. You will be required to submit your project proposal in written form, and to orally present it to the committee. These presentations are open to visitors. You are welcome to 3
attend a project approval meeting before you present your own project, to see what will be expected from you. You also will have the opportunity to practice your oral presentation and have your written proposal reviewed and critiqued before you actually submit it. Adult leaders from your troop are available to help in this process but do not wait until the last minute. Fundraising An eagle Project cannot be a fundraiser. You may raise funds to complete a project, but the project must be more than simply raising funds. If it is necessary to raise funds for your project, there are two sets of issues you must consider. First, BSA has very specific rules that apply to Eagle project fundraising. You must be familiar with those rules and follow them. The most current rules are included in the Guide to Advancement, and the Procedures and Limitations on Eagle Scout Service Project Fundraising section of the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook and you must read those rules before you start fundraising for your project. If you intend to raise funds from any source other than your parents and relatives, your troop, parents or members of the troop, the troop s chartered organization (First Baptist Church) or the beneficiary of your project, you must obtain prior approval from the council. There are very specific rules about what you must tell prospective donors, how those donated funds may be used, and how the donations must be documented. Second, if you intend to raise funds, and your fundraising plan has been approved, there are informal rules of etiquette that you should follow. Start with your family, friends, troop members, and people that you personally know. If you intend to contact people you do not know, or organizations that you are not affiliated with, you must learn the procedures that they expect to be followed when soliciting donations. Keep in mind that groups such as service clubs (Rotary, Kiwanis, Elks, etc), large businesses (Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Lowe s, etc.) receive many requests for donations to worthy causes. Most have established procedures to consider those requests. You should learn those procedures and follow them. Your failure to follow those rules could be embarrassing, or could cause you to miss the opportunity to receive important help with your project that would otherwise be available. (For example, some businesses have a minimum amount of time before a project that a donation must be submitted for consideration it would be a shame if your request was rejected solely because you submitted it too late). Regardless of where you obtain funds for your project, keep detailed records. You will need to thank each of your donors. You may also need to return excess funds to donors once the project is completed. Some donors, particularly those donating substantial funds, goods or services, may request a donation letter or receipt that may be used for tax purposes. Such a letter or receipt must be provided by the beneficiary of your project not you, your troop or BSA. For 4
example, if Home Depot contributes building materials to a project that is to benefit the First Baptist Church, any donation letter for Home Depot must be provided by the church the actual recipient of the donation. The Eagle Application Each Eagle candidate will be expected to submit a comprehensive application, as specified by BSA. You should prepare a binder or notebook to organize and present your application and supporting materials. The troop has samples available. Such a notebook should contain the following information: Goals and Ambitions statement Letters of Recommendation (if letters are not included, the Eagle Board is required to call each of your references) Letters of volunteer request Donation request letters Eagle Workbook Signatures Eagle Workbook Proposal Eagle Workbook Final Receipts Before and After Project Pictures Project Approval and Summary Training certificates (IE Cedar Badge, NYLT, Fox Fire) Leadership Role(s) (Include copies of position sheets since First class, most recent first) Eagle Rank Application (copies) (Keep Original in one of the books in the front) Thank You Letters (Mandatory. No Thank yous = No Eagle ) Scouting History/Advancement Record (print out from council) Blank Advancement form for Eagle Board to sign. (Keep in one of the books in the front) Scoutmaster Conference Speak with the Scoutmaster early in the process to determine when the Scoutmaster conference should take place. It is likely that you will have several preliminary conferences during the process, leading to the official Scoutmaster conference once all merit badges and the project have been completed. Board of Review Prior to the Board of Review your completed application must be submitted to the council office for a package check. This process will confirm that all of your requirements have been completed and that back up documentation has been verified. Check with the Council office for the current schedule and procedure. Before you appear for your Board of Review, your Eagle Advisor can, and should, arrange for one of more mock boards of review. The practice boards will give you valuable input and advice on how to be prepared for the real thing. There is no reason that an Eagle 5
candidate should ever be surprised by the Board of Review process. Board of Review is attached. A checklist for the Sample Documents (To be provided) Samples of the following documents are attached: Eagle Project Proposal Package Goals and Ambitions statement Letters of recommendation Letters of volunteer request Donation request letters Eagle Rank Application Thank you letters 6