Keith Khan, Eagle Scout
Total Volunteer Hours Worked: 77
In my Eagle Scout project, volunteers canvassed 524 houses across four neighborhoods for non-perishable food donations. Fliers were placed on houses on the first day of the project and the following day, volunteers collected the food and took it to the Community of Faith United Methodist Church. There, they sorted the food into banana boxes for grains and milk crates for all other products. In total, there were five banana boxes of grain, such as cereal and pasta, three crates of ramen, three crates of soup, four crates of spaghetti sauce (e.g, Alfredo and tomato sauce), three crates of canned vegetables, four crates of tomato products, one crate of drinks, two crates of condiments, two crates of rice, one crate of peanut butter, one crate of tuna, two crates of fruit, two crates of baking products, and one crate of miscellaneous items. These goods were used at the Community of Faith’s Food Distribution on weekly Tuesday afternoons, where they were handed out in meal kits to families in need of food.
After I finished my proposal, I created a sign-up form for volunteers that asked them who they were, where they lived, and what parts of the project they would participate in (handing out fliers, picking up food, and sorting at the church). As volunteers signed up, I made five canvassing routes amongst four neighborhoods. I tried to keep the groups together based on where they lived, but some volunteers lived in places that made it difficult to put them in groups, and they all went to my neighborhood instead. I also set up a food donation bin outside of my house for willing donors, who mostly consisted of family friends.
Observations and Challenges
Much of the project went smoother than expected. All parts of the project happened significantly quicker than expected, and significantly more houses were covered. The early phases of the project were expected to take place across three hours each. All groups for which I had data (two groups did not specify) took approximately two to two and a half hours each day to canvass, and all but one canvassed more houses than expected. In fact, in the group I supervised, we completed covering the expected fifty houses within 45 minutes, and thus we waited an additional 40 minutes to attain fifty more fliers, which we handed out to an extended router. I also found that the asynchronous food box was very successful. Before canvassing even began, approximately 300 items were collected (calculations may vary depending on interpretation of what is an individual item).
The actual sorting process only took one hour total as well, as there were many volunteers that I recruited and the Community of Faith set up a streamlined series of categories to sort by based on their desires.
The most challenging part of the project was keeping track of participants, routes, and items collected. How I managed these elements of the project changed significantly. I had to shuffle around volunteers to different neighborhoods a lot given that I was uncertain who would sign up and where they were from. I also severely underestimated the amount of time it would take to hand out fliers and collect, and consequently some routes were extended during either in the middle of the first phase or, in the case of volunteers that I did not physically supervise, as they were canvassing on their own volition. The method of inventorying changed a lot too. At first, I noted every item and brand when it came in via donation box, but this proved too time consuming and I changed to simply noting the amount of crates filled at the end of the project due to peer pressure and time constraints.
Changes (from original proposal)
I set up a donation box outside of my house to solicit for donations asynchronously before we canvassed. I did so at the encouragement of my family, who said that they knew people who would donate. This turned out to be the right decision, as a significant amount of donations, about 300 items, were given before the event even started by scouts, family friends, and relatives who may not have known about the project otherwise.
I also included taking inventory as part of the project, finding out what items were collected in the donation box and finding a rough amount of crates filled of each item after the project concluded. I also had to pull some volunteers into my neighborhood to canvass, which was acceptable to all parties involved. I also ended up not doing a full inventory at my own house, at least not completely. I did take an inventory of the items that were received in my neighborhood because myself and other volunteers had spare time before we were supposed to come to the church for sorting the donated items. I instructed the other volunteers in other routes to do the same if they were able, which they were unable to do. As a result, I took a more comprehensive inventory instead.
Leadership
I demonstrated leadership by allocating volunteers to specific routes to place fliers and collect food and how to sort the collected food into categories once they reached their destination. I gave out an announcement to my scouting troop and a few of my friends with a sign-up form if they wanted to participate. I frequently checked my email and sign-up form to any new volunteers, specifically information on what phases of the project they could participate in and where they lived. Many volunteers and their parents had questions, which I answered in a timely manner. As soon as possible, I emailed volunteers on where they were going to canvass. On the day before the project started, I also created a PowerPoint presentation that briefed volunteers on how to place fliers, how to pick up items, and miscellaneous precautions like wearing a class A uniform and bringing water. I also directed my older brother and other scouts in inventorying at various phases of the project, telling me what we had received so we could note it down. I also instructed participants on how to sort items once we reached the church based on the recommendations of the Community of Faith.
What was most difficult about being a leader was answering questions that I did not necessarily have an answer to and recuperating from a few minor shortcomings, most of which had happened at the final phase of the project at the church. For instance, I was asked where the in-person sign-up form was by a scout. I had not planned to make one and had planned to use the virtual sign-up form I made prior as a record. Fortunately, I was able to create one on the spot using a pencil, eraser, and notebook that I already had to take notes. I was also asked for another pencil for a more productive inventory, which I didn’t account for. This problem was solved by abandoning my overly-meticulous inventory process.
It made me very happy to see that people were appreciative that I made this project happen. On the first day, only my Scoutmaster obliged to volunteer, which made me concerned that nobody would want to support me. But in the end, over 15 people outside of my family signed up to volunteer, and even more gave food or money up for donation. Everyone who volunteered not only did their task on the project, but exceeded their expectations by covering more houses than expected and getting more food than expected. A lot of scouts were also very happy that I gave them service hour opportunities, and even those donating food gave out very kind notes. It felt great knowing people were appreciative of my work.
I learned that being very clear about logistics ahead of time was very important for making sure that I know how to lead and what advice to give to others. In order to make sure that every volunteer was informed of their job and objective, I had to set up a rigid sign-up form (even more critical for this project given that volunteers were not always in the same place) and constantly answer questions from volunteers and parents. I also learned that I needed to probe relevant parties for answers to some of my questions. The sorting process was vague, and so I needed to ask for clarification during the sorting itself for certain rules, like how to fill the crates properly.
