Officials in the BSA’s Middle Tennessee Council say the project, completed in 2019 before the pandemic, was the first of its kind in their council. “They are human beings,” Austin says. Not only will you be helping others, but you may even have the chance to put together a project that will last for many generations. … in a perfect world, the SM has been counseling boys not to let it get to this point, but as you say, Scout aged boys do a lot of things they shouldn’t. Nothing on this website is an official publication of, nor bears the endorsement or sponsorship of any Scouting Organization. Scout Advancement and Character Building, Transitioning to the New Rank Requirements. He set up a collection box at the school, too. Says Austin: “I think we could all be just a bit kinder in the world.”, After unspeakable loss, a strong young woman finds strength in Scouting. A novel Eagle Scout project idea: He collected books to send to inmates, The remarkable story of the Florida Gators Eagle Scout quarterback, Unsung Hero: She calmly comforted the victim of a motorcycle accident, Cancer, a tornado and a pandemic: Scouts endure along the trail to Eagle, Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window). See what types of projects are accepted and how they are submitted. When Austin first joined Scouts BSA, his Scoutmaster asked each Scout to bring in a few books to donate to the Davidson County Sheriff’s office, where the Scoutmaster worked. “I hope it’s not boastful to say I am proud of myself, but I am,” Austin says. All 3,300 books were taken to Troop 275’s meeting room to be separated and sorted by genre. The coffee shop offered anyone who brought a book a free drink from a special menu. But they still weren’t done. “They were everywhere.”. And though he did not meet the direct beneficiaries of his efforts — the incarcerated men and women inside the prison — he hopes they get a lot of use out of the books. While we do our best to get things right the final word on policy and procedure is found in the resources produced by your Scouting organization. Austin’s project proves one more reason we need Scouting: it helps young people develop a passion for helping others. In addition to fighting recidivism, the project would also fight waste. A smart way to determine if your proposal will get approved is to glance back at your troop's recently approved Eagle projects.
In the end, he delivered 3,032 books.
In the first three days of having the collection box at Caliber Coffee, Austin reached his goal of 300 books.
For his Eagle Scout service project, Austin Niec collected books to send to a correctional facility in Nashville. We'll send one email per weekday, and you can unsubscribe any time. Before long, he heard from some local TV news stations and his local newspaper. Like anyone who has completed an Eagle project, Austin understood that you can’t do it alone.
Austin and his team of volunteers made posters to hang at Caliber Coffee and flyers to put in teachers’ mailboxes at Austin’s school. It's helpful to know your troop's unwritten preferences before researching and proposing an Eagle project. “If they can read one of these books and learn a new trade,” Austin says, “or get lost in a story and create a vision of something nice in their head, then this project was worth it.”.
Looking back on his time in the program, Austin believes in the power of Scouting to “bring boys and girls together to grow and help others,” he says.
Join 13,882 people who get Bryan on Scouting in their inbox. He was reminded that it’s OK to ask for help. To promote the project, Austin posted on Facebook and Instagram and asked Caliber Coffee to do the same. “I don’t know their stories — why they are incarcerated, what brought them to the decision to do whatever it is they did — but whether someone is in jail, or going to school or work, or just born or turning 100 years old, everyone deserves a chance to learn and grow.”. With his “Books for Inmates” project, Austin initially hoped to collect 300 paperback books to donate to incarcerated men and women.
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.