West Ranch Track Shelving
Donation protected
Hi! My name is Jake Carver, and I am a member of the West Ranch Cross Country and Track & Field teams. Recently, I have been working hard to complete my Eagle Scout award, part of which requires me to complete an Eagle Scout service project; a demonstration of a Boy Scout’s leadership abilities and dedication to his community.
My planned project is to build a new shelving unit and pole vault racks in the team storage shed and organize the existing contents of the shed in new containers. If you didn’t know already, our program has gone through coaches at a very fast rate over the past handful of the years. One of the overlooked consequences of these changes has been an unfortunate lapse in organization. The shed currently is a mess, with equipment and apparel laying scattered across the floor in dilapidated cardboard boxes. My project will have 4 main benefits to help the situation:
1. Knowledge of what we do and do not have, allowing us to make more calculated decisions and economically sound purchases. The difficulty for the coach more than anything is the inability to take stock of existing materials. No one currently has any idea of how much clothing we have or if we own unaccounted equipment from half a decade prior. Even recently purchased materials sometimes get misplaced. This past track season, I actually went into the shed with my coach to look for running tights. We could not find them even though we just bought them, much less know if we had any leftover from years prior. If we could just take inventory and organize, then we won’t have a situation where we have to wasting money on unnecessary purchases. This should hopefully save the program valuable time and money, with the latter allowing the team making more expensive purchases. What types of purchases? Well...
2. More room in the shed. This is what is going to allow the program to buy items that were previously inconceivable acquisitions due to a lack of storage space. In past years, a common complaint was that the team lacked necessary resources on campus in comparison to some of the more established teams in the valley. In regards to storage space, I completely disagree. We may not have a huge amount of room, but the real problem is that the room we do have is not optimized. By building shelving and moving relatively light items off of the floor, we are making capacity for items we could only previously dream of, like gym equipment, tents, or even ElliptiGOs.
3. Future organization. A huge concern with my project was making something both simple and longstanding. Since there is nothing complex about shelves and boxes, there should be no problems down the line with understanding where everything is. Even when the program changes face 10, 20, or maybe even more years down the line, there won’t need to be much explanation of where everything should go. And as a Boy Scout, with assistance from adults who have contributed to similar projects, I am confident that I will be able to construct something stable enough to stand that test of time.
4. Longevity of equipment. Most of our track equipment is stored improperly. For example, our hurdles are held outside the storage shed, susceptible to vandalism and rust. The room we make in my project should be adequate to hold and protect these hurdles. I will also be building racks to hold pole vault poles, to prevent them from bending. Again with my emphasis on the optimization of resources, by not taking initiative and creating proper storage, we are costing the program more time and money in the long term.
My project will be fairly simple. It will be half construction and half organization. The construction will be the building process of pre-purchased metal shelving and pole vault racks, and the attachment of each to the sides of the shed. The pre purchased metal shelving, as opposed to hand built wood shelves, offer better durability, adjustability, and simplicity in construction while not costing much more than the alternative. The organization will include taking count of our inventory, discarding certain items, cleaning the shed, and organizing what is left. One of the items to be disposed of will be our small shed within the shed (it doesn't make sense, I know), which can be seen in the pictures. We will move it outside and take care of who knows what was hiding behind it.
Unfortunately, this project is not cheap. The $1,800 will be used to purchase:
Shelving
Storage bins
Steel straps
Screws
Brackets
Extra safety equipment (gloves and safety goggles)
Food
This is the calculated price of all of my preferred expenses, with 3 shelving units and new containers to be able to fill the all of the shelving racks. I understand it is a lot to ask for, and it is entirely possible that I am unable to meet my target. But, at the end of the day, this is the type of work that our program needs at the moment.
If a monetary donation is not possible, I can accept donated items such as storage containers, safety equipment, cleaning supplies, building supplies, or anything else beneficial. Please contact me through my GoFundMe profile.
If this were a standard team investment, it would be an enormous endeavor to fund. My Eagle Scout project is a very unique opportunity for the team to improve itself without taking on this burden, economic and otherwise.
Here are some pictures:
Here is the mess, and the shed within a shed
The current pole vault storage
Yes, that is a wheelchair on the roof
To me, this program is something I owe much to. Thanks to the coaches, parents, and fellow runners who have supported me in high school, running has been the highlight of my day, every day, for the past 3 years. As an incoming senior, I knew that I had a debt to the team that could only be fulfilled by returning the favor for future athletes.
I hope to do my project on June 25th and 26th if necessary, although that may be subject to change. If you need to contact me for additional information, volunteering interest, or anything else, contact me through my profile. I hope you are interested in the cause and can help! Thank you in advance for your support!
Jake Carver
My planned project is to build a new shelving unit and pole vault racks in the team storage shed and organize the existing contents of the shed in new containers. If you didn’t know already, our program has gone through coaches at a very fast rate over the past handful of the years. One of the overlooked consequences of these changes has been an unfortunate lapse in organization. The shed currently is a mess, with equipment and apparel laying scattered across the floor in dilapidated cardboard boxes. My project will have 4 main benefits to help the situation:
1. Knowledge of what we do and do not have, allowing us to make more calculated decisions and economically sound purchases. The difficulty for the coach more than anything is the inability to take stock of existing materials. No one currently has any idea of how much clothing we have or if we own unaccounted equipment from half a decade prior. Even recently purchased materials sometimes get misplaced. This past track season, I actually went into the shed with my coach to look for running tights. We could not find them even though we just bought them, much less know if we had any leftover from years prior. If we could just take inventory and organize, then we won’t have a situation where we have to wasting money on unnecessary purchases. This should hopefully save the program valuable time and money, with the latter allowing the team making more expensive purchases. What types of purchases? Well...
2. More room in the shed. This is what is going to allow the program to buy items that were previously inconceivable acquisitions due to a lack of storage space. In past years, a common complaint was that the team lacked necessary resources on campus in comparison to some of the more established teams in the valley. In regards to storage space, I completely disagree. We may not have a huge amount of room, but the real problem is that the room we do have is not optimized. By building shelving and moving relatively light items off of the floor, we are making capacity for items we could only previously dream of, like gym equipment, tents, or even ElliptiGOs.
3. Future organization. A huge concern with my project was making something both simple and longstanding. Since there is nothing complex about shelves and boxes, there should be no problems down the line with understanding where everything is. Even when the program changes face 10, 20, or maybe even more years down the line, there won’t need to be much explanation of where everything should go. And as a Boy Scout, with assistance from adults who have contributed to similar projects, I am confident that I will be able to construct something stable enough to stand that test of time.
4. Longevity of equipment. Most of our track equipment is stored improperly. For example, our hurdles are held outside the storage shed, susceptible to vandalism and rust. The room we make in my project should be adequate to hold and protect these hurdles. I will also be building racks to hold pole vault poles, to prevent them from bending. Again with my emphasis on the optimization of resources, by not taking initiative and creating proper storage, we are costing the program more time and money in the long term.
My project will be fairly simple. It will be half construction and half organization. The construction will be the building process of pre-purchased metal shelving and pole vault racks, and the attachment of each to the sides of the shed. The pre purchased metal shelving, as opposed to hand built wood shelves, offer better durability, adjustability, and simplicity in construction while not costing much more than the alternative. The organization will include taking count of our inventory, discarding certain items, cleaning the shed, and organizing what is left. One of the items to be disposed of will be our small shed within the shed (it doesn't make sense, I know), which can be seen in the pictures. We will move it outside and take care of who knows what was hiding behind it.
Unfortunately, this project is not cheap. The $1,800 will be used to purchase:
Shelving
Storage bins
Steel straps
Screws
Brackets
Extra safety equipment (gloves and safety goggles)
Food
This is the calculated price of all of my preferred expenses, with 3 shelving units and new containers to be able to fill the all of the shelving racks. I understand it is a lot to ask for, and it is entirely possible that I am unable to meet my target. But, at the end of the day, this is the type of work that our program needs at the moment.
If a monetary donation is not possible, I can accept donated items such as storage containers, safety equipment, cleaning supplies, building supplies, or anything else beneficial. Please contact me through my GoFundMe profile.
If this were a standard team investment, it would be an enormous endeavor to fund. My Eagle Scout project is a very unique opportunity for the team to improve itself without taking on this burden, economic and otherwise.
Here are some pictures:
Here is the mess, and the shed within a shedThe current pole vault storageYes, that is a wheelchair on the roofTo me, this program is something I owe much to. Thanks to the coaches, parents, and fellow runners who have supported me in high school, running has been the highlight of my day, every day, for the past 3 years. As an incoming senior, I knew that I had a debt to the team that could only be fulfilled by returning the favor for future athletes.
I hope to do my project on June 25th and 26th if necessary, although that may be subject to change. If you need to contact me for additional information, volunteering interest, or anything else, contact me through my profile. I hope you are interested in the cause and can help! Thank you in advance for your support!
Jake Carver
Organizer and beneficiary
Jake Carver
Organizer
Stevenson Ranch, CA
Sara Soltani
Beneficiary