Boy Scout COVID-19 Memorial for Frontline Workers

Hello there!

I’m Vaishnuv Thiagarajan, a Boy Scout in Troop 162 of Austin, Texas, working towards the rank of Eagle. Thank you for visiting my Eagle Scout Project’s GoFundMe page! An Eagle Scout project is a community-based project planned, executed, and led by a Boy Scout. To get the rank of Eagle, such a project is required, and only about 4% of scouts make it to Eagle. For my project, I will create a memorial to honor the frontline workers who have served or passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project will be located at Austin Central Library in Downtown. I’m beyond grateful to be working with Mr. Roosevelt Weeks, director of the Austin Public Library system, to install this innovative memorial at such an iconic location and commemorate the countless hours, days, and months of service that frontline workers provided during the pandemic, risking their own lives. This memorial will stand not only as a landmark to create awareness in the public but also as a reminder for us to be prepared for any public health disasters in the future.

Planning this project has taken over 18 months, and the memorial uniquely defies norms. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, there have been calls to honor those we lost, yet very few monuments exist to remember them. To address the need, this project will be one of the world’s only, and Texas' first, memorials dedicated to frontline public service workers who served during the most dangerous times of the pandemic. In addition, this project will be a traveling memorial that will be transported and featured at Austin Public Library locations across the city. Although the project cost is relatively low compared to most other memorials, the symbolization and endeavor behind it are extremely deep, being both modular and lightweight while maintaining the requirements of a monument. The project will consist of 7 pillars or columns, each representing a branch of frontline workers (Healthcare, Education/Child Care, Government, Transportation, Public Services/Utilities, Public Safety, Food and Supply Chain). Unlike most monuments, this memorial will contain trinkets and symbols to represent each of the seven sectors of frontline service. It also represents the seven continents of the world that were all affected by the pandemic, in addition to many other aspects of Frontline Service and Scouting. The project will be happening in mid-January, so I hope to meet my goal before then!

Since 3rd grade, Scouting has been a massive part of my life, with several distinguished scouts in my family. I have thoroughly enjoyed the ability to contribute to my community and learn life skills, all while polishing my leadership experience. For the past 8 years, roughly half of my lifetime, I have been aware of the coveted rank of Eagle, and I am so excited to finally be at the point in my life where I can give back to my troop and community by making that vision a reality. The process of doing so has not been without obstacles, as is expected when choosing to embark on a mission involving coordination with one of the largest municipal governments in the nation. However, these challenges ensure that the result is of the highest quality and worth the effort. After months of emailing beneficiaries to no avail and multiple subsequent design changes, I am thrilled to announce this project to the world!

A donation of any size would be greatly appreciated, as it will get us one step closer to the project’s fruition. On behalf of my community, thank you!

Yours in Scouting,

Vaishnuv Thiagarajan