Ideas that may NOT be acceptable for Eagle Service Projects

1. Coordinating a blood drive or food drive. Clothing drives, donation drives, food drives and blood drives are worthy service projects, but most don’t meet the expectations for an Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project. Remember, your goal is to lead others as well as provide some service to the community. So, you will want to do a project that requires several volunteers who will carry out the project under your leadership. The problem is easiest to describe with blood drives. As one Scouter says, "my secretary can organize a blood drive in 5 minutes - call the blood bank, arrange a date, and they'll provide posters and show up with a crew. How does that show leadership?" That is a very good question and not one you want to try to justify in front of your Eagle Board of Review. If you do an ordinary, easy collecting drive of some sort, you are certainly providing a service, but can you explain to your Eagle Board of Review how you demonstrated Eagle-quality leadership? Scale up your project so that they can see what kind of leader you are.

2. Doing a project that mostly involves computers. Making web pages or documents for groups or organizations usually shows little or no leadership. It is necessary that you lead Scouts and others in carrying out your project.

3. Doing a fund-raising project to collect large sums of money for a worthwhile cause. (Example: A scout wants to raise $10,000 to have a monument built and then placed in front of the local courthouse by county workers. The raising of funds to pay for a project, with the remainder of the details to be handled by someone else, and into which the scout has minimal or no input or responsibility…when this is definitely not an Eagle project. This is a great project but does not really meet the goals of an Eagle project.

4. Doing a project that only utilizes professional blueprints and professional workers. (Example: My uncle has a construction business, and he and his crew will help me with doing my project at a church that he attends. The Life Scout should draw up the plans and lead his work crew of Scouters/Scouts or other volunteer workers in carrying it out.)

5. Doing a project that involves 2 Eagle Projects side by side. (Note: Eagle Projects should stand on their own and not be attached to another ongoing project or other Eagle Project. You could later build onto an old Eagle Project, but not in the same time frame.)

6. Doing a project that involves mostly just the 'routine labor' of maintenance that would be done anyway. (Example: cleanup, grass cutting, trimming bushes/trees, small repair work, painting a room.)

7. Doing a project that is all or mostly involved in ‘training’ could be an excellent service project, but not an Eagle Project. In the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook, it asks for a list of “estimated material costs” and how will you “obtain funds” for you project. Usually something is purchased, built and/or assemble as part of an Eagle Project.

8. It is the responsibility of the Life Scout to ensure and demonstrate that they will have adequate time to plan, request and receive all approvals, organize and carryout their Eagle project, finish their workbook, and complete all their merit badges and leadership requirements prior to their eighteenth birthday. Only having several weeks or months to complete all this is tough, challenging and no fun for the Life Scout, their parents, and their scout leaders. The Advancement Board can’t make exception to the standards that we hold for all our scouts just because a scout is about to turn eighteen. For an Eagle Project to be approved by the Board, the scout must show that they had adequate time for completion of all Eagle Scout requirements.

9. It is NOT encouraged for young Scouts (ages 11-14) to do Eagle Projects. Obtaining the rank of Eagle should not be a marathon race. Scouts should take the time to grow and mature in their troop. Becoming an Eagle Scout is much more than just receiving the Eagle Badge.