ANDY: “An Eagle Scout is the highest rank you can earn in the Boy Scouts of America program. You have to advance through all the ranks, where throughout time, you have to take part in different leadership roles, community service projects and other achievements to earn each rank.

For my service project, I wanted to do something that was not just meaningful to other people, but meaningful to me too. So I chose to make care packages for the cancer kids at MD Anderson Kids Cancer Center. I worked together with the Ronald McDonald House, which is a nonprofit organization that houses families of these sick children who come from far away, just giving them a place to stay, feeding them, taking some stress and financial problems off their hands while their kids are in the hospital getting treatment.

So I went [to the Ronald McDonald House] and I put together about 50 or 60 care packages with comfort items such as fuzzy blankets, fuzzy socks, toys, coloring books, and card games, to keep [the kids] entertained. I gave them essential items like tissues, hand sanitizer, and things that they might need daily. I also bought them different stuffed toys just to keep them comfortable.. Then I had the younger scouts of my troop who helped me assemble the packages for my project each write a kind note.

Through my project, I learned a lot of things. First of all, I learned that I need to be more grateful in life because seeing all these kids suffering a lot and just getting a small package with a couple of toys and games made them so happy. I realized I need to be more appreciative in life. I’m healthy. I have a lot of friends. I can play sports. Another thing I learned is how to tolerate younger scouts. A lot of the scouts that I had helped with my project were younger. They misbehaved, and they wouldn’t listen or do anything wrong. You have to redirect them and help them. It gave me a good tolerance of younger kids and how to work with them, instead of disciplining them.

MAX: “My service project was centered around mental health. I went to a mental health institution and I decided to focus on the effects of pollinator gardens on the patients there. I found out that pollinator gardens are an easy way to boost mental health, decrease depression, anxiety, and stress. So I got the garden area, and I dug up the older replanted new dirt, and then put mulch on top, and then more dirt. I planted 15 to 20 new plants that would take time to grow because gardening is part of the mental health process. I have one that took over 230 service hours.

I learned how to properly research and find statistics because I need to have my project based on facts. I learned how to be a leader because I had over 10 people on my project. I also gained very valuable gardening skills, such as planting, grooming, and watering, which I think is pretty useful for the future. I learned how to make an impact in the community.”