For a Scout, the Eagle Scout project is a culminating activity that marks the end of Scouting in a way that demonstrates the Scout’s leadership, planning and service to others. For Colin Thompson, developing a project that benefits kids in the schools he once attended was a perfect fit. Having attended Moore Elementary, Freedom Intermediate and Freedom Middle, Colin wanted to develop a project that could be used by and for kids in need. The missing piece came by way of a conversation with Franklin Special School District School Board member Alicia Barker, Au.D. “Before I decided to work with the NOOK I had to go through many lavish plans,” Thompson said. “I was approached by Alicia Barker through my troop when she heard I needed an idea for my Eagle Project.” Barker explained the mission of The NOOK (Needs Of Our Kids) and how it served as an emergency needs warehouse, housing clothing and personal hygiene items, which can accessed by school counselors and volunteers 24 hours a day. Students in FSSD and Williamson County Schools may benefit from the donations.
Once he determined he would create a project to benefit The NOOK, Thompson went about the process of idea generation. “On a trip down in Dalton, Georgia, I stumbled upon a ‘Little Library’ in a park while driving through and the idea came to me: I should build collection boxes for the NOOK in each of the FSSD schools and also the Williamson County library.” Thompson, who began Scouting in 2008 at Moore Elementary in Pack 188 before crossing over in 2013 to Boy Scout Troop 137 led by Scoutmaster John Green, set about raising the funds needed for this project through friends and family. On Friday, October 26, he donated eight of the boxes to the schools and one box to the Williamson County Public Library. The boxes provide a year-round collection point for those wishing to donate new socks, underwear or personal hygiene items to The NOOK.
Thompson said that he hopes the boxes will provide students and families with “a deeper connection to the NOOK and allow kids to be more involved in helping their fellow students who are in need. Each box is painted white to allow the schools to design their specific box any way they want it and the box will become the central gathering spot for the NOOK. “My hope for the years to come is that these boxes will remain a central collection point, and students through the years will use these boxes and be reminded of the needs of our kids,” he said.
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