John-Paul's Eagle Scout Project

Hi, I'm John-Paul Castells, and I am a Life Scout with Boy Scout Troop 22 in Oakland, MD.  I live in West Virginia, and attend Tucker County High School, where I am a rising Senior.  

I love being a Boy Scout, and I am actively planning my Eagle Scout project, a park for Elementary school students and their families in Thomas, WV honoring a pioneering African-American teacher whose courage in the late 19th century paved the way for the ending of Segregation in our nation's schools.  

The Carrie Williams Memorial Park will be a living memorial dedicated to Mrs. Carrie Williams, who with her Attorney, Mr. J.R. Clifford (the first African American attorney in West Virginia history) won a case in 1893 that would allow her to teach African-American students equally as white students.  This  was one of the foundational cases that was to be used as precedent nearly 61 years in the future by then NAACP Attorney, (later Supreme Court Justice) Thurgood Marshall, for the landmark Supreme Court case, "Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education" (1954).  the "Brown" case ended segregated educational facilities in the United States, and signaled the end of Jim Crow laws that disenfranchised African Americans.

Mrs. Williams fought for the right of her African American students in Coketon, WV to get an equal education in their community, and as such, a park that would serve young children and their families in her name, as well as tell her story of standing up for what she knew was right, is a very fitting tribute to this valliant Educator.  

A site already exists for the park, but needs some upgrading if it is to be a pleasant, usable space for children and families.  Thus, I need your help!  We have raised a quarter of the money needed to redo the grounds for the park.  Three thousand dollars ($3000.00) is still required to buy materials for the park, and to pay for things like park benches, landscaping services, signage and lighting, to name a few. 

Please consider donating any amount to help us build the Carrie Williams Memorial Park.  Any monies raised over the amount needed will be donated to the Tucker Community Foundation to start an endowment to maintain the park into the future.  As an Eagle Scout-to-be, I would never profit from the monies raised for my project, Scout's honor!  

Here is my site if you want to see updates about the park, drawings, and a power point (click below):

jpcastellseagleproject.wordpress.com

Thank you so much for your help in assisting me to contribute to my beautiful little community, Tucker County, West Virginia.