Local Scout’s quest to become an Eagle is good news for Maryville Academy

A Mount Prospect Boy Scout is using his leadership, communication and organizational skills to help Maryville Academy, a residential child care facility in Des Plaines.

Keagan Anderson, a Life Scout in Troop 23, searched for an Eagle Scout service project that would help others. He used his communication skills to solicit used bicycles from police departments, bike shops, friends and garage sales. He received more than 50 donated bicycles.

Anderson organized 43 volunteers including many of his fellow Scouts, family, friends and the Arlington Heights Rotary Club to help on June 2. They checked each bicycle to determine what repairs were required. Some repairs were made by using parts from the other donated bikes. Others had new parts donated by a local bike store. By the end of the day, they had 39 safe, working bicycles.

The Maryville youth will be able to ride the bikes based on their positive behavior. The bikes will provide motivation for Maryville youth to exhibit positive behaviors at home and at school.

In addition to the bicycle project, Anderson recruited some of his volunteers to also clean up a small cemetery on the Maryville campus. The volunteers raked the entire area to expose the headstones, cleaned up debris and trimmed bushes and trees. He also removed an old tattered flag and replaced it with a new one.

From start to finish an Eagle Scout project can take months to complete. There are several steps a Scout must take to obtain the rank of Eagle. The service project is just one part, however it is considered the most challenging.

Anderson is entering his senior year at Prospect High School. He is on the speech team, show choir, and in the plays and musicals. He is also an active Scout, member of the Order of the Arrow, Senior Patrol Leader in his troop, and has worked the past three summers as a camp counselor at Napowan, a Boy Scout camp in Wisconsin.