Eagle Projects:

Scouts working toward the rank of Eagle are required to plan and carry out an Eagle Scout project to benefit their community. These projects are strongly recommended, but not required, to have more than 100 hours of labor and planning, so need many volunteers from their troop and the community to complete. In the past, projects have been done for churches, homeless shelters, city halls, schools, and nature centers.

Scouting for Food:

Scouting for Food is an ongoing annual program of Scouts BSA, begun in 1985 by the Greater Saint Louis Area Council. The program involves collecting for local food banks. The Scouting for Food Drive is the largest community outreach project in the Hawkeye Area Council. Every year, usually the first weekend in October, Scouts distribute bags for non-perishable food donations to over 131,000 homes.  One week later, Scouts pick up the donations and take them to HACAP’s Food Reservoir and other local food agencies in 7 counties in Eastern Iowa. 

Pancake/Waffle Breakfasts:

Each year Scouts from our troop can volunteer to help bus tables and serve pancake meals for the Marion-East Cedar Rapids Rotary Club’s “Fly-In Drive-In” Pancake Breakfast, usually held on the 4th Sunday in June, or for the Marion Waffle Breakfast, usually held on the 3rd Saturday in May. This is a way to support the organization that supports Troop 560.

Big Sand Mound:

For many years, Troop 560 has annually traveled to Big Sand Mound Reservation next to Mid-American Energy.  Projects to help Big Sand Mound have included cutting down invasive trees, cleaning up a dump in the prairie, and setting up a network of buckets and fences to research the turtles who live on the reservation.