You have earned the Life scout rank and are ready to begin your Eagle Scout project. This workbook will assist you in planning and recording the progress of your project and in completing and submitting a final report.

"While a Life Scout, plan , develop, and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to your religious institution, school, or community. This project idea must be approved by your unit leader (Scoutmaster, Varsity Coach, Explorer Advisor), unit committee, and by the council or district advancement committee before you start. You must use the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook, No. 18-927 in meeting this requirement."

Does the project for Eagle have to be original, perhaps something you dream up that has never been done before? The answer is "No, but it certainly could be." You may pick an Eagle project that has been done before, but you must accept responsibility for planning, direction, and following through to its successful completion.

Routine labor (a job or service normally rendered) should not be considered. Work involving council property or other BSA activities is not permitted. The project also may not be performed for a business, be of a commerical nature, or be a fundraiser. (Fundraising is permitted only for securing materials or supplies needed to carry out your project.)

How big a project is required? There are not specific requirements, as long as the project is helpful to a religious institution, school, or community. The amout of time spent by you in planning your project and the actual working time spent in carrying out the project should be as much as necessary for you to demonstrate your leadership of others.

A look at some projects other Scouts have done for their Eagle Award illustrates that your project may be to construct something or may be to render a service.

• Made trays to fasten to wheelchairs for disabled veterans in a VA hospital.
• Collected used books and distributed them to people in town who wanted and needed, but couldn't afford them.
• Put a sturdy footbridge across a brook to make a safe shortcut for children between their homes and school.
• Collected and repaired used toys and gave them to a home for handicapped children.
• Organized and ran a bicycle safety campaign. This involved a written safety test, equipment safety checking, and a skill contest in a bike rodeo.
• Surveyed the remains of an old Spanish mission and prepared an accurate map relating it to the present church.
• Built a "tot lot" in a big city neighborhood and set up a schedule for Boy Scouts to run it.
• Set up a community study center for kids with no place at home to do schoolwork.

Your project idea must be approved by your unit leader, unit committee, and council or district advancement committee before the project is started. The following questions must be answered before giving this approval:

Who will benefit?

How will they benefit?

What official from the group benefited will be contacted for guidance in planning the project?

How many people will be recruited to carry out the project?

Althought your project was approved by your unit leader, unit committee, and council or district advancement committee before it was begun, the Eagle Scout board of review must approve the manner in which it was carried out. Questions that must be answered follow:

Did you demonstrate leadership of others?

Were you indeed the project director, rather than doing the work yourself?

Was the project helpful to the religious institution, school, or community group?

Did the project follow the plan?

If changes were made, why were they made?