I (re)affirm my allegiance to the three promises of the Scout Oath. I thoughtfully recognize and take upon myself the obligations and responsibilities of an Eagle Scout. On my honor, I will do my best to make my training an example and my status and my influence count strongly for better Scouting and for better citizenship in my troop, in my community, and in my contacts with other people.

To this I pledge my sacred honor.

(The Eagle Oath, as found here)

Before delving into what my Eagle Project was all about, I’d like to note the hiatus of the last two months (has it really been that long?). School caught up with me far more than I expected, as did a number of other activities. I was social, and didn’t blog. I’m glad that I was social, but I want to be dedicated to this blog. But enough about that.

Drum roll, please!

Community Care Packages

When I first started thinking about the goals of my Eagle project, I knew I wanted to connect people, and I wanted to do something non-traditional. I didn’t want to build a bridge.

In a Sunday school morning discussion, my high school group explored the idea of portable hygiene kits as an easy way anyone can contribute the community. It’s something simple you can keep in your car and hand out at a moment’s notice; it consists of only a few items, and is easy to put together.

That formed the beginning of my project idea. In the end, we put together 151 care packages for the community. I still hear back frequently from people that they’ve met an interesting person through one of our care packages, and that they really enjoyed having it to hand out. The package gives you something to start a conversation with: “Would this be helpful to you?” It also provides something to hand out for those who worry about where their money goes or don’t have the time to buy a meal.

Here is a list of instructions for putting together a package.

Recipe

Ingredients:

Each Care Package will require 1 of the following:

• Gallon-sized ziploc bag
• Washcloth
• Travel-sized shampoo
• Travel-sized deodorant
• Body soap
• Comb or brush
• Deck of cards

Steps:

1. Fold the washcloth and place it neatly in the bottom of the bag.
2. Place the other ingredients in a neat pile on one side of the washcloth.
3. Squeeze out air and seal.
4. Keep it with you.
5. Be alert for the opportunity to give it out.

For Larger Groups

The approach can be extended to larger groups, but you will need to collect supplies before hand. You may also find that ordering supplies ahead of time is easier. Once you have an equivalent number of everything, lay it out in an arbitrary order. The ziploc and washcloth should come first, however. Participants can then form an assembly line to package the bags.

I hope you find this intriguing and enlightening, and it is my goal that this be a living project. It can continue and spread because of its simplicity.

Do a good turn daily.

Categories: Blog

Previous Next

Back to posts