So The Kid came up with an idea for his BSA Eagle Project: A flag burning. I’m sure you all know that the proper disposal of a shabby, old, or torn-up American flag is to burn it. He ran it by Leaders and it flew.
Where might he find such flags?
How can this be done in NYC safely and sufficiently?
WHile we’re at it. Eagles, glad you did it?
It wasn’t much of proposal if it didn’t acount for aquiring the flags, and disposing of them legally, was it? Shouldn’t he be the one asking these questions?
My son’s troop went through some kind of training process to get certified to do this. Google flag retirement.
I agree that for an Eagle project, a large part of it would be the leadership aspect involved in figuring out the logistics and in coordinating the training for whoever would be participating in his troop.
Doesn’t the Eagle Scout project require a minimum level of funding? The money’s not going towards burning the flags is it? I’d expect such a project would involve replacing peoples flags.
Isn’t “collect underpants” one of the steps?
Excellent question. Shall I put him on?
Get off my damn lawn.
In my BSA District the Eagle Committee has asked Eagle candidates to not do the same project as their peers have done repeatedly. Flag retirement comes up a lot, and a number of those project proposals have bern rejected by District. (FYI, I’ve been on the Troop Committee of my son’s Troop for years, including 2 as Chair. My son finished his Eagle project in July.) Google eagle projects for a zillion ideas. The real point is for your son to show leadership. Have him pick something that he’s passionate about - he’ll be working on it most of his waking hours for weeks, perhaps months. The Eagle project must also benefit the community, although not the Troop’s sponsoring organization. A rough target for a project is 100 volunteer hours - including the Scout’s time planning the project. Repairing trails in local parks, cleaning up litter on streets, marking storm drains for no dumping, getting backpacks of supplies for the homeless, painting schools, are just a few categories of projects I’ve seen. If your Troop does not have an experienced person to help Eagle candidates (usually calked the "Life-to-Eagle Coordinator, since the rank prior to Eagle Scout is Life Scout), contact your District 's or Council’s Eagle committee and try to get your son an official mentor. The project and the paper work are, I hope, the most daunting things your son has done in his young life. Get all the help you can!
Eagle Scout here. I know in my area, just going to the Eagle Board and saying your project is to retire flags won’t fly. The collection of the flags would be more of a project that the retiring.
As for getting flags, ask local churches to post it on there board and put it in there monthly paper if they have one. In my area I could get it in the local news paper (In NYC that may not happen).
And yes, I am glad I am an Eagle Scout. Tell your kid good luck.
No, you should take a step back and let him do this on his own. It’s his project to do or not do, including the research.
Meh. It helped with some college and scholarship applications, I guess, but I’ve very much soured on BSA as an organization due to their record on gay rights. It seemed like a big deal when I was 17, but 20 years later I’m more embarrassed by the Boy Scouts than I am proud of my work.
I’d suggest NOT doing it at Ground Zero, if that helps narrow things down for you.
Yet another vote for having a flag [del]burning[/del] retirement isn’t nearly enough for an Eagle Project. He could make it unique and big enough as suggested upthread. A possible location is Floyd Bennet Field. Park service would likely be glad to help.
Also, another vote for stop trying to help. Answer questions he asks with vague hints in the right direction. This isn’t 5th grade science fair; it is the culmination of his scouting career. It must be his, entirely his and his alone. Sorry.
The new Eagle workbook is at the NESA website. He should look at that and figure out how he is going to fill out the report from a project like this.
Our District likes projects that create / build something permanent. They also want to see leadership. Finally, they want to see a lot of total hours (candidate plus others).
My sons project hit over 500 hours.
I am an Eagle and glad I did it. I am also a public fighter at the Council level on the gay issue - you can search for past threads on the subject where I have participated. Someday we will be able to wipe this tarnish off.
Eagle scout here locally in Arizona did the same project. He convinced all the Walmarts in the area to let him put a box just inside the doors for people to deposit old flags in.
Another Eagle Scout throwing my two cents in, suggest another project; something that has a lasting impact on your community. No one’s life will be improved by some kid taking credit for disposing of their ratty old flags. Keeping five dogs from being put down in your local animal shelter dwarfs this project in outcome, organization and leadership.
Very glad. Eagle, with three palms, 1966.
I’m glad to see some others in this thread saying that this wouldn’t fly as an Eagle project.
My Eagle project was building trails and a bridge in the woods for a retirement home and it got rejected! The worst part was we had already started and I was on the cusp of turning 18, so I had no time to start another project and thus retired as a Life scout.
Thank you, Algher.
In my area retiring flags is already taken care of. All the local American Legions have bins to dispose of the flags. I believe the local boyscouts help them dispose of them. Not an Eagle project .
I’d let him take my neighbor’s ratty flag and his cardboard 99% placard too! This guy, was a scout, never made Eagle though…