Your Eagle Scout Service Project
Your Eagle Scout Service Project is an important requirement for the rank of Eagle Scout.
There are several stipulations set forth by National BSA:
- There are no required minimum hours for a project. Your project does need to be of sufficient scope to demonstrate leadership and provide a significant service to the beneficiary.
- Routine labor is not normally appropriate for a project.
- Projects generally may not be of a commercial nature or for a business.
- A project may not be a fundraiser. In other words, it may not be an effort that primarily collects money, even for a worthy charity.
- No more than one Eagle Scout candidate may receive credit for working on the same Eagle Scout service project.
- Projects must not be performed for the Boy Scouts of America, or its councils, districts, units, or properties.
Your Eagle Scout Service Project MUST be approved by four different people before you begin work on your project:
- the project beneficiary
- Scoutmaster
- Troop Committee
- District Eagle Project Approver
The first three may sign the paperwork in any order; however, the District Eagle Project Approver must be the final signature you receive.
There are three people in Stanford District who may approve Eagle Projects. Your project must be approved by one of these three people: Jon Mewes, Sri Juvvadi, or Leel Suppiah. Their contact information may be obtained from your Troop Eagle Coach or the Palo Alto Service Center.
Completing your Eagle paperwork
When you have completed your project, you need to do the following:
- Fill out the National Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook completely, including required signatures
- Complete the Eagle Scout Rank Application and obtain all the required signatures
- Fulfill requirement number 6
– statement of Life Ambitions and Purpose
– List of Honors and Awards, including those outside of Scouting
- Complete a Scoutmaster Conference
Your Project as well as all the other rank requirements and Scoutmaster Conference MUST be completed before your 18th birthday. If you don’t submit your paperwork to the Service Center before your birthday, it should be soon after. We have a limited amount of time to process your paperwork and hold your Eagle Board. This is a stipulation from National.
Submitting your Eagle paperwork
When you have completed all the necessary steps for Eagle, you should submit your entire paperwork packet to the Council Service Center. This should be presented in a way that shows pride in your work. Although not required, a binder works well. You are representing yourself to the Eagle Board; you should want to make a good impression.
Please make sure that the Advancement Person on your Troop/Crew Committee has submitted all your Merit Badges and Rank Advancements to the Council through Internet Advancement. This should be entered and submitted, not just entered. Your paperwork can not be processed and your Eagle Board can not be scheduled until this is completed.
Also please ensure that your Position(s) of Responsibility for the rank of Eagle Scout begins after your Life Board of Review was held, and covers a period of at least six months.
Your Eagle Scout Board of Review
When your paperwork has been processed and there are no errors, you will be contacted to schedule your Eagle Scout Board of Review. In Stanford District Eagle Boards are held the fourth Thursday of each month, except for November and December. Due to the holidays these months the Eagle Board is held earlier, usually, but not always, the third Thursday.
In order to have your Eagle Board in a given month, you must submit your paperwork by the first day of that month. It must be in the office on the first; so if the office is not open on the first, it should be submitted prior to that date.
You will be contacted by email to schedule your Eagle Board of Review. If there are issues with your paperwork that must be addressed prior to scheduling your Board, these will also be discussed through email, as well as from a phone call from the person processing the paperwork in the office.
Eagle Boards are usually held at the Palo Alto Service Center, beginning at 7:00 pm. We will run as many Eagle Boards as necessary to serve the Scouts who have submitted their paperwork that month. Each Eagle Board will review two Eagle Candidates, so you might have to wait if you are not the first Scout for that particular Eagle Board. Times are not assigned, so you will not know until that evening whether you will be first or second.
The Eagle Scout Rank is a great achievement. We congratulate all the Eagle Scouts that attain that rank in Stanford District.
After your Eagle Scout Board of Review
After your Board of Review the results need to be processed with National, which can take up to a week. It will take one to four weeks after that to get the Eagle credentials back from National. Once those are received you can have your Eagle Scout Court of Honor. It is best not to schedule your Court of Honor for at least a month to make sure there are no questions from National. Your Scout leader will be contacted when the Council receives your Eagle credentials.
If you are not yet 18, you may begin to earn Eagle Palms. There is no limit to the number of Eagle Palms you may earn; you are only limited by the time required for each Palm and the number of merit badges available. For the requirements for an Eagle Palm please click here.
