Eagle Projects for HEFY Participants 2012

HEFY supports young men in the Scouting (BSA) program by making available HEFY trip resources for young men that are working on their Eagle Projects. HEFY has the following guidelines for Eagle Projects.

Who Can Do Eagle Projects

HEFY allows two young men on each trip to work on their eagle projects. The two eagle projects participants are selected on a first come, first serve basis during the online registration process. Participants that want to do an eagle project during their HEFY trip should check the box "Eagle Project Desired" on the first screen of the online application. The application page will indicate if there is still a slot available for the participant to do an Eagle Project. If you have already registered for a HEFY trip without checking this box and want to do an Eagle Project you may call HEFY to check on the availability for your trip. Participants may not organize an eagle project on a HEFY trip unless they are one of the young men that have been approved in advance. 

Permitted Eagle Projects

In order to prevent disruption to the regular HEFY trip schedule, only HEFY approved Eagle Projects are permitted on HEFY trips. A list of projects that are pre-approved by HEFY is shown below.

Each pre-approved project is described in more detail later in this document. 

• Sports Team Provisions Project
• School Health & Safety Project
• School Library Setup Project
• Basic School Materials Project

If there is a specific project that a scout is interested in that does not appear on the list, you may contact HEFY to possibly approve your desired project. HEFY will approve or disapprove the request within 15 days of submission. The description needs to cover the following items:

1. Description of the need
2. Description of the project (keep in mind the available HEFY help described below)
3. Required supplies, equipment and tools
4. Shipping and transportation requirements
5. How others in the US will be involved
6. How the HEFY group can be involved

It is important to note that HEFY approval does not constitute BSA approval in any form. Each scout will have to go through the regular BSA approval process. We recommend getting HEFY approval prior to the BSA approval. HEFY requires the scout to send a copy of the BSA approval within 60 days of the HEFY approval in order to hold the reservation for the Eagle project on the HEFY trip. If the scout is planning on doing one of the HEFY pre-approved projects the BSA approval is due within 60 days of the scout's HEFY registration date. You can email the approval letter to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or fax it to 855-442-7888.

What Help is Provided

HEFY provides the following help to the young men approved to work on their Eagle Projects:

• Act as the sponsoring organization for the Eagle Project and sign off on the project forms.
• Provide basic planning information for each of the HEFY pre-approved Eagle Projects. This information is provided as needed and when requested by the scout.
• Set aside one day for participants to work on the project (4 hours with all participants or 8 hours with half the participants- approximately 70 man hours with about 18 participants). The scout must plan, organize and direct all the activities during this work time.
• Provide contact information for up to six other members of the trip to check a bag through onto the flight (bag size and weight is limited by normal airline limits - usually about 50lbs). Additional charges may be assessed by the airlines. It is the responsibility of the young man doing the eagle project to cover those charges. It is also the responsibility of the young man doing the eagle project to get the bags to the other participants two weeks prior to trip departure.
• Provide transportation for the HEFY participants to/from the project site.
• Provide the adult supervision needed for the project work day. 

Project Descriptions

• Sports Team Provisioning Project: 

o    The objective of this project is to help equip a village or neighborhood basketball, soccer or rugby team. In every country we are visiting during the summer months, sports are not just a hobby but a way of life. In Fiji and Tonga, Rugby is the primary sport and in South America it is soccer. Although other sports such as basketball are also practiced. In Fiji for example, one of the greatest desires expressed by the villagers are requests for more sports equipment for their rugby team, specifically cleats, as those are generally the most expensive item. Many youth are using regular shoes, shoes that are too small for them, or shoes with holes. The following is a list of recommended items that may be collected in order to fulfill this provision.

·         Cleats

·         Shorts

·         Socks

·         Balls (Soccer, rugby, basketballs, etc.)

-          Uniforms with numbers on the back     

There are many ways to go about setting up this project and a great part about an eagle project is that it invites you to be thoughtful and creative. The bulk of your project and man hours will take place in the US as you determine the best way to collect the material and manage the process. We then will provide you with the opportunity and location to deliver the equipment with the HEFY group (please refer to "What help is provided" section above). Trust us when we say that this project will have a major impact on individuals, the team, and the community where they reside.

•  School Health and Safety Project:

o    The objective of this project is to set up a health and safety program for an elementary school. This could include first aid and hygiene training and supplies as well as safety supplies and accident prevention work. In most of these countries schools are poorly funded, especially outside of the city where we will be spending most of our time. Many of the schools lack running water and proper sanitary facilities. This project involves several aspects; from gathering the material to teaching and educating students and teachers how to use the supplies and maintain a safe environment for their school. This project may include:

·       Toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, soap, shampoo, cloths, etc for hygiene kits

·       Pain reliever tablets, bandages (both adhesive and non-adhesive), antiseptic cleansing wipes, first aid/burn cream, antibiotic ointment pack, medium size safety pin, alcohol cleansing pads, etc (refer to school first aid website for other suggestions)

·        Assembly of hygiene and first aid kits

·        Delivery of material to school

·        Educating school children on health topics, like how to properly brush their teeth, wash their hands, etc.

·       Teach playground safety

·         Bringing tools to eliminate potential playground and classroom hazards (ie, hammer and or saw, to take care of protruding nails or screws, rubber corners, blocks to secure tall bookshelves, etc.

HEFY will assist scout by providing the location, transportation to the location and HEFY group participants for a half day or 1 full day of work. Please refer to the "What help is Provided" section above.

•  School Library Setup Project:

o    The objective of this project is to help equip a village/neighborhood elementary school with a reading library. This will most likely include providing books, and building book shelves. It may also involve categorization and indexing books as well as providing a check-out system. This project will be more easily carried out in Belize, Tonga or Fiji as English books are appropriate. However, if you are able to find ways to collect Spanish books for our friends in Peru, the need is just as large. Education is key and necessary wherever you are in the world. However, many children in these areas are behind in education as their resources are very limited. By gathering books and building a library for these children, you are helping both their education and their development. 

o    Because it is too difficult to ship building materials, the scout doing the project will bring the donated funds needed for the book shelves and will purchase the supplies inside the country. HEFY will help you purchase and transport the supplies when you are in the country. Part of your project could include learning how to build basic book shelve so you can do so in the country you are serving.

o    Note: the highest grade we will be providing for would be the equivalent of a sixth grader. 

o    You may gather a wide variety of books. Here are some ideas:

·         ABC books

·         Simple short stories

·         Instruction books

·         Educational books- on such topics as wildlife, science, sports, etc.

·         Short Novels

·         Dictionaries

·         Encyclopedias

The scout would spend the majority of his time in organizing the collection of the books and planning categorization and indexing. As mentioned above, HEFY will provide contact information for up to 6 participants who may agree to help you carry books in additional suitcases in order to transport materials to the country. HEFY will then provide you the location and transportation to the school, as well as the opportunity to purchase required items for building materials if needed.

•  Basic School Materials Project

o    The objective of this project is to help equip a local school with basic school materials needed to help children have a productive learning environment. In the areas we serve many of the schools lack the funds to buy new learning materials. For this project that scout will decide what are the most needed items for elementary schools in the area we are serving and take those items and distribute them to a local school. Some of those items may include:

o   Crayons, pencils, scissors, paper and other school and art supplies

o   Calculators, pencil sharpeners, erasers, and other tools

o   Games for math, science and English

o   Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

o   Learning pictures and posters to hang in the classrooms

These are just a few of the ideas of items you could possibly bring. We suggest that each young man research the area he will be going to and find out what items are most needed for that area. HEFY will do what they can to contact the local teachers and see what specific items they are in need of.

Every one of these projects will have a tremendous impact on the lives of those whom you serve and we look forward to helping you in any way possible to fulfill the requirements of your Eagle Project.