[Troop139] EAGLE PROJECT

[jrgodsquad1 at aol.com]

To Troop 139, family & friends,

This is Rose arie Maccaro Rossmann, Joseph's Mom. I will never forget
the day of my son's court of honor and all everyone did that day to
help. (Thank you again!!) It was a proud  day that I couldn't help but 
look back a
at all that had happened to  arrive at that point.  It was a 
celebration for the entire troop,not
just the eagle scouts themselves, because without the troop 
participation and
all the shown scouting spirit, none of our boys could have achieved the
rank of eagle. My sincere hope is that every boy in Troop 139 gets to 
stomeday stand in front
of  our troop and receive their eagle badge.  It's a lot of work, but 
worth the
accomplishment and honor in the end. When you each have your court of
honor, it will be a day that you, too, will never forget!!

For those unfamiliar in what is involved to even get started, please
let me explain.  First, the scout has to decide on a project.  (There
is a website with suggested projects that others have done.) Then the
scout brings that to the troop leader and they discuss if this is a
realistic project and if so, what modifications need to be made.  Then
the scout has to fill out a long, detailed application about the
project.  This will include how many scouts will assist the project,
how  the project will be paid for, who in the community will benefit
the project, who in the community will be involved to oversee
the project (In our case, the DPW in Bergenfield), just to name a few
things on this application. Once completed, signatures are  then
collected and the application is sent in to the eagle board.

After a few weeks, the scout hears back from the board.  They never
accept a project as initially written.  There will be corrections,
additions needed, other parts subtracted, modifications made and
sometimes the entire project will be rejected. But once the initial
paperwork is given back to the scout, it again involves more hours of 
refining the project,
gathering new signatures for a modified project and going back to the 
eagle
board.  In Joseph's case, it wasn't until the third application and six
months later that his  project was finally approved.

Now the project has to be scheduled. Supplies have to be ordered and
paid for.  Scouts need to be told when to meet to please help with the
eagle project.  The co-ordination needed for any project is tremendous.
Think back to our past five eagle scouts and their projects: Kunal
painting maltese crosses by fire hydrants, Peter collecting food & 
repairing the
food pantry floor,Joseph refurbishing park benches, Karl clearing the
trail in the Palisades and Robbie making boxes to collect flags, then 
collecting
them &  respectfully retiring them.  Each of these projects required 
hours of
preparation & execution and because of all the help & support you gave
them, these 5 boys achieved eagle!

Now we have an SOS from another potential eagle scout in Closter Troop
63.  He has chosen to collect school supplies needed for children in 
Guatemala
who even when they attend school, there often aren't any school
supplies available. This scout went through the same planning that our
boys did, but he is not meeting the requirements that were set by the 
eagle board.
What a shame to  have come this far and not make eagle!  I don't know 
how old this boy
is, but the day before a scout's 18th birthday, everything - including
all follow up paperwork and the project itself - must be completed and 
submitted!!!
Many scouts have that deadline lurking over their heads as they race
to finish the project on time!

In the spirit of fellow scouting,  I am asking you to please contribute 
towards
this project.  What is needed is as follows:

children/youth books in Spanish, puzzles (from wooden block types to
500 pieces), basketballs, volleyballs, soccer balls, (imagine taking
gym class without any supplies!) pencils, pens, erasers, pencil
sharpeners, yarn for knitting, markers, toothpaste, toothbrushes,
sunscreen, notebooks, coloring books, laptops & printers.

Many of us may have some of these supplies lying unused around our
homes.  Why not donate them and help not only the children of Guatemala
but also a local fellow scout.  Who knows?  Maybe this collection of
supplies will go to help future boy scouts in Guatemala!  We never know
how our kind acts can affect others.

Joseph and I will be at scouts on Tuesday evening to collect supplies.
If everyone in the troop could donate just 1 or 2 items, it would be a
tremendous help to this eagle scout project.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your generous
response. I hope that one day each of you boys while working on your
own projects gets all the support you need!

In the spirit of scouting, Thank YOU!!!!!

Rose Marie Maccaro Rossmann