Having just turned 16 earlier this month, the pressure to do more stupid crap within the Morg has increased. Blessing the sacrament, dating TBMs (the thought of which makes me shiver), and getting my Eagle Scout rank. My mom has imposed this rule for a while, that I need it in order to get my driver's license.

Rather than rebel and act bratty about it, this is something I'm gonna push myself to do it, if only to shut my mom up. My dad and other Scout leaders tell me that it'll look good on my resume for any job with some sort of leadership position. So unlike that trash known as Duty to God, this might be quite a benefit for me even after I leave the Morg (which my TBM family and friends don't know about yet).

RfMers, what's your experience with this kind of stuff? And of course, project ideas will be gladly accepted. It's also note-worthy that my parents very much prefer that it be something that can be done in one day.

made quilts and blankets for children at a local homeless shelter. He involved the cub scout troop he works with and got a lot of people to help. He also did a diaper drive with the help of neighborhood businesses - homeless families always need diapers and wipes. If you still have to go to church, you might be able to get the ward to help - have the RS and YW do some quilts or have it as part of the ward activity. Especially if the ward thinks your testimony is faltering. They will practically fall all over themselves to love you back into the church, via help w/ your service project. Family members donated the batting and material, since we have a lot of quilters in our extended family. We got really lucky because people donated enough stuff for 12 quilts, plus a ton of fleece baby blankets that were already made.

Another good idea I saw was a boy who collected used soccer uniforms, shin guards, cleats etc. and new soccer balls to send to a school in Africa. Food drives are also popular. One group who often gets overlooked is homeless men, who often need clothing and supplies. You don't say where you are but if you are near Salt Lake City, The Road Home homeless shelter has ideas for Eagle Scout projects that benefit the shelter on it's website. Also in Salt Lake is Catholic Services which has programs for homeless men. My sister works with charities in Salt Lake so I know a few. Also, Adopt-A-Native-Elder is really great to work with. They benefit elderly people on the Navajo reservation and accept a variety of things, not just food drives for the elders. Things like backpacks of school supplies for the grandchildren Navajo Elders are often raising or Christmas stockings for the children. I worked with them a bit when I lived in Salt Lake and they are really nice. All three of these groups have websites.

Finally, just google Eagle Scout Project ideas and you should come up with lists of ideas. That's how my son finally got the idea to make the quilts for a local shelter. Good luck - you'll probably be glad you did it some day. My son was very proud of what he was able to do to help the homeless, even though he didn't care much about the Eagle rank. People outside the church do respect it.

Check with your city community services department.

It requires minimum planning because all you have to do is get volunteers... You'd basically contact HfH and block off a segment of time and get volunteers to come out during that time. Check with HFH in your area because they all have different age/volunteer requirements.

Marking a new hiking trail. I know an eagle who was really into the outdorsy stuff and he did this as his project

This project is a tool to help you get permission to get a drivers license. You can do something you don't really care about, so that you'll have something on your resume, and so you can get your license.

I think you'd be happier if you chose something that you actually have some passion for. Nor sure what kinds of things you like, but be creative.

Maybe you could do a "teach a man to fish" project.

I was a foster parent for a while. The kids we took care of had some bad stuff in their past, and we could give them a stable home, enough food, blankets, recreation, no violence, etc. But, the best thing I ever did for a foster child was to teach him to cook. He went on to culinary school, and then moved to europe and took a job as head chef in a restaurant owned by a famous chef.

If there is something you are good at, or something you love to do, maybe you should share it with people who haven't had a chance to do it. So, instead of making a blanket for someone, maybe have a blanket making class so they can learn to make their own. Each person in the class could make a blanket and give it to someone, or they could teach the skills they learned, and it would go viral.

That's what I think.

I commend you on your attitude. Your attitude of "I might as well make the best of this situation" will serve you well if you can hold onto it.

I don't think having your Eagle Scout is as much of a big deal as it used to be, so don't expect it to open huge doors for you, but it definitely doesn't hurt. I'm not trying to be rude about it, I just don't want people to set you up for unrealistic expectations. I think some kids think that getting their Eagle will ensure jobs or getting into a certain college, which I just don't think it does anymore. But it does look good. More importantly, though, it helps build good references. If you work with a mentor on your project (and he sees this good attitude in you) he will be a valuable resource when you start applying to jobs and colleges.

Good luck! There are some great ideas here on this thread. I second the idea to find something you enjoy and then try to design your project around it. That can be especially helpful, too, if it's a project that is related to a job or studies you want to pursue later.

a few years ago. I was a Scout Master for about 10 years. My last year in the morg, we had nine eagles in our ward.

I sense that you are a very wise and intelligent young man. Kudos to you for recognizing that you are in a cult, but yet, you must work within a paradigm for your own benefit. Just keep playing the game, so to speak, in doing the morg stuff they want you to do (i.e. blessing the sac, DTG, etc). Go along with it all. Can't hurt. Because you can't support yourself right now and don't have a career yet, you still need your parents help and assistance., At some point, they will have to understand that you just don't believe in a cult anymore, but that can come later. I wouldn't serve a mission though - I wouldn't go that far (although many do). It's an utter waste of time, and you would do far better for yourself by going to college and/or military.

As far as the Eagle. I hear this more and more in the morg, where parents use the drivers license as a motivator. Its not uncommon. Identify the merit badges you need to do, call the counselor, and it all in a the next month. Get them done, and out of the way. Work on them all simultaneously. It will be easier than you think. Go ahead an schedule the visits with the MB counselors.

As far as projects, these are examples of the ones that my son and other have done recently:
- made three pic nic tables for a community park.
- made three benches for a local historical cemetary, and set them in concrete
- hosted a blood drive at the church (super easy to do)
- Painted the benches at the local high school (i.e. actually you could contact you high school, and ask them for what needs to be done in the school or school grounds). I had three boys do this exact thing, and it was a piece of cake. The school loved the free labor.
- Cemetary projects: Had two boys repair fencing and clean up local cemetary's.
- Hygiene kits for homeless shelter

Whatever you decide, if you get stuck, you can get easy ideas by looking for projects at your local highschool and community parks. Its common now also to make a video slide show of your projects, as well as taking pics. Good luck.

+1
Contact the local school system. They always need some free labor. One of my nephews made a lot of oak shelves for the library, and another put together a playground for a grade school.

Having your eagle may help you get a head up on the competition for a part time to put you through school, but after you get out of school and in the real job market, no one will give a damn.

Georgedubya, I have already forbid you to date a TBM on another thread! Don't give in! TBM girls are the sirens that cause unsupecting sailors to crash their ships on the mormon coast!

I had several Eagle Scouts help out in the community areas of the church I work at, these are just the guys I wrote letters of recommendation for:

--one designed and installed built-in shelving along the wall of the gym's athletic storage closet;

--another the same for the preschool's games and toys (they share the gym);

--another designed and built two picnic tables with a cover for clients attending the food pantry to sit;

--several scouts have built collapsable, stackable booths for local school bazaars and fairs;

--another young man in the congregation designed bookshelves (to the specs of the hospital), built and installed the shelves, and collected books to fill them for one of the children's hospitals in Houston.

Looking back--I get the impression much more is expected from some Eagle Scouts than others . . . I do know the guys did the projects on their own up to the designated workday and then on the workday, other Eagle candidates joined them and made the project happen in one day.

What I can say for sure is that I have been very impressed with the caliber of the work and the work ethic and the manners of the young men involved.

The best of luck to you in your quest!

I told them that I would just wait until I was 18 to get my drivers license.

I hated the scouting brainwashing. I wanted no part of it.

My parents finally gave in and let me have my drivers license at 17.

Same here. My parents tried the driver's license threat on me too. I told them that I had pedaled my bicycle for years so another two years (until I turned 18) wouldn't hurt. One month after my 16th birthday my mother said "C'mon, lets go get your drivers license." I told her, "Nawww, I'm good. Besides I enjoy being driven around." After another month she was dragging me to the DMV.

georgedubya has his sites set too low. If I were him, I would tell my folks that getting my drivers license for completing my Eagle isn't enough...I want a car.

I don't want to be an appache indian.

what's your story dude?

Scouting is psuedo military, and indian folklore

They use terms like Jamboree, build campfires, and have native American inuendos.

It sounds ridiculous.

My sons were in a non-denominational Christian Scout troop, headed up by our neighbors, and they were in it because they liked it. The Eagle candidates got together and helped each other with their Eagle projects, and most were completed in one day, but they did take some advance planning.

Part of the advance planning was to raise the money for the project. One son worked with the school district in an underprivileged area, in cleaning up, painting, and refurbishing a school playground and lunch area. My other son worked with the community parks. They got public funding for most of it.

The park was the most fun. It was run-down and filled with litter. My son designed the landscaping, as frugally as possible. The Parks Dept. paid for the trees and shrubs, and the Scouts did all the hauling and labor. Church people (Christian) donated lumber for the benches, and topsoil. My sons had/has a great head for business and organization, and their purpose was to coordinate everything so it could be completed in one day.

My son was interested in horticulture as a hobby, and had a summer job with a landscaper until he was old enough to work in a store. He landscaped our yard, his own yard, and his brother and sisters' yards. His career is in finance, though.

Actually, one of the other Eagle scouts is my son's business partner, so maybe Scouting helps you make good contacts!

How about working with The Hope Organization to work with some of the "Lost Boys" of Utah?

http://www.thehopeorg.org/

http://www.smilesfordiversity.org/cod.php

Scouting is really excellent no matter what religion you are. I'm glad you aren't one of those people who think that it's 99% mormonism, cause it's equal no matter what you beleive. As for project ideas my personal favorite that I've helped with has been trail building/repair

Spiky, thorny, nasty weeds that ruin bike tires.