COVID-19 Barriers

Every Eagle Scout must have completed an Eagle Scout Project. In my case, the COVID-19 pandemic was a huge issue right as I was planning my project. I ultimately decided I wanted to do something that would benefit my own community as we were all greatly impacted. I knew that schools would eventually return to in-person classes, so I decided to help with that. My project was the creation of 195 sneeze guards for the students at Kapunahala Elementary, the school I attended. These sneeze guards were made out of vinyl and PVC material. They were made to the size of the desks at Kapunahala Elementary, and could be easily sanitized after use.

I was responsible for planning everything out, leading all of the volunteers, and supervising the entirety of the project. In the beginning, I asked for donations from local stores, and procured all of the supplies needed for the project, from multitudes of PVC pipes to vinyl shower curtains. I had some of my family members help cut some of the PVC before the project date. Additionally, I made a tutorial video for volunteers to follow when making the sneeze guards. For the rest of the project, I had volunteers from scouting, family and friends, and local community service organizations. On project day, I split the volunteers into teams of vinyl cutters, PVC cutters, supply management, and assembly. I went back and forth answering questions, supervising each team, and making sure everything was on track to complete the project. The project took around 200 hours in total for everything from planning to execution.

It’s safe to say that I learned a lot from this project. This was my first experience managing a project this big. I learned the importance of thorough planning, including contingency plans. In addition, I practiced my interpersonal skills with volunteers and donors. It was crucial that I listened to the questions, needs, and concerns of everyone involved, to ensure that the end product is the best it could be. It also took a good amount of research to figure out a cost-friendly solution that was easy to build and sanitize. On the day of the project, there were several problems I needed to solve on the fly when things didn’t go as expected. However, it was a great learning experience of how important it is to stay calm and organized under pressure. All in all, I’m just glad I was able to provide a small amount of relief for my local community.

Here is a link to Midweek’s Facebook post about it: Midweek Facebook Post