Support Rachelle's Eagle Scout Mental Health Initiative

Hello, my name is Rachelle Moran, and I am a senior at Cave Spring High School. I have lived in Roanoke my entire life, and I am a proud member of my community. Specifically, in two programs, I have been able to give back to my community through servicing the community in the BSA and advocating for mental health awareness through Tudor House.

When I was younger, I always envied my older brother who was able to go camping and hiking with my dad through the scouting program. I was so jealous I began tagging along to every Pinewood Derby and camping trip. In 2019, great excitement and tragedy struck my life. This year, girls were allowed into the BSA, and I finally found a troop that would take girls in Salem through Troop 51. I was thrilled. But just a few months later, I lost my brother to suicide. It was devastating for my family and me; however, my dad and I began to love the scouting program even more as it kept our family connected.

A few years after, I joined Tudor House as a teen ambassador, a non-profit suicide prevention organization in Roanoke. I was thrilled and had great motivation to get out into the community and make it more positive and help those in need. For my Eagle Scout project, I wanted to bring these two programs that I love together, so of course, my project is mental health-oriented! I hope to continue my passion for mental health in college this upcoming year!

For my eagle scout project, I will be making 150 care packages for patients seeking emergency mental health care at Carilion hospital. Oftentimes hospitals can be uninviting or intimidating for patients, so my goal is to bring patients comfort as they receive the care needed! In order to make these packages, we will be using your donations to fund the materials and we will be collecting donations of items from the following list located below. Some of our county high schools and middle schools will have donation bins for students to bring in donations. Items will need to be new and something that someone cannot hurt themselves with. For most of the items, you may have something extra around the house, or they can be bought at a dollar stores or in bulk! Additionally, there will be a car wash to help raise money on September 28th and 29th at Penn Forest Worship Center across from cave spring high school. We plan to conclude collections in the beginning of October 5th. Overall, I am looking forward to starting this project and getting this done for our patients in need! I want to thank all of my community for supporting me and helping me get to where I am today.

List of Items being Collected: APPROVED Items for ages 5-99: Trial Size Hygiene items: shampoos, body wash, deodorant, lotion etc.; Activity pages or books with no staples: word search, coloring, connect the dots; Stress ball or other sensory items; Play Doh; Small flannel/soft blanket; Mints or hard candies; Crayons; Markers (no sharp tip; no permanent); Composition notebooks; Paperback Books; Slippers; or Fuzzy Socks.