BillionGraves Eagle Scout cemetery projects are making an impact on the genealogy world! As Eagle candidates lead their volunteers in taking GPS-linked photos with the BillionGraves app, they are helping others find their ancestors and grow their family trees.
In this blog post, you will learn about Eagle Scout candidates planning and carrying out unique Eagle Scout projects using the BillionGraves app and website. You will also learn how to plan a fun and rewarding Eagle Scout project yourself with the help of BillionGraves.
BillionGraves would be happy to be the beneficiary of Eagle Scout projects and will provide all the necessary signatures for approvals and verification. We’ll help you figure out which cemeteries still need to have GPS-linked photos taken and how to lead your volunteers.
Even if you are short on time, a cemetery documentation Eagle Scout project can be planned and carried out quickly and easily with BillionGraves. It will also bless the lives of your community members and people throughout the world who are looking for their ancestors.
So, if you are contemplating whether or not it is worth the time and effort to finish your Eagle Scout award, do it!
What are BillionGraves Eagle Scout Cemetery Projects Anyway?
Eagle Scout candidates provide leadership for volunteers who take photos of headstones with their smartphones using the BillionGraves app. It’s as easy as snapping pictures while walking through the cemetery and, as you take the photos, each headstone is automatically tagged with GPS coordinates.
After the photos are uploaded, the names and dates from the headstones may be transcribed by your volunteers or by other BillionGraves’ volunteers.
The data is then made available to the public for free to find loved ones, for genealogy, and to honor ancestors. The GPS marker makes it easy for people who are searching for the grave to walk straight to it, even in a very large cemetery.
Once it has been transcribed the free data can be viewed on BillionGraves, FamilySearch, or MyHeritage.
Volunteers learn that if their shadow would cover the names and dates, it was just fine to stand on the opposite side of the gravestone to take an upside-down photo. The images can easily be rotated on a computer screen when the data is transcribed.
Finding Your Location at the Cemetery
Here’s how you can determine where you are in the cemetery in relation to the gravestones around you that have already been photographed:
Go to the main screen of the BillionGraves app. Tap on the green button labeled “Take Pictures”. In the corner of the screen (next to the button used to take photos) is a tiny map with a blue dot on it. If you tap it, the map will enlarge.
The blue dot is YOUR GPS location (your phone’s location). The orange dots are gravestones that have already been photographed. Gravestones with green dots have also been photographed already, but the names and dates on them have not been transcribed yet. Walk away from the dots on the map until you get to an area that has not been photographed yet (with no orange or green dots).
Download the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook
Eagle Scout paperwork may seem mundane, but it is one step on your way to flying like an Eagle!
Download the Eagle Scout service project workbook here: Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook
It will be easiest if you start organizing your Eagle Scout project right from the beginning. After you download the workbook, put it in a binder where you can add notes and forms as you progress through the project. Add a pen and some notebook pages to record information when you are making phone calls. Always keep the binder in the same place – such as on a desk or in a particular drawer – so you don’t have to hunt for it each time you need to update the information or meet with advisors.
This helpful Eagle Scout BillionGraves project guide sheet would be helpful to print for your binder.
Beneficiary
BillionGraves would be happy to be the beneficiary of your project. Here is the contact information that you’ll need for your Eagle workbook:
Beneficiary:
BillionGraves
1881 W. Traverse Parkway
Lehi, Utah 84043
Email your forms
Signatures on a Scout form are a critical step along the path to becoming an Eagle.
You will need signatures from the unit leader, unit committee, beneficiary, and council or district leaders. Leave yourself enough time to gather these signatures. They are essential.
You may not be able to catch everyone on the first call. Keep trying. One of our sons had trouble contacting a district leader because the post was in transition as someone was retiring. Persistence paid off in the end and he got the signature.
Send a copy of your Eagle workbook via email to Eagle@BillionGraves.com. We will review it, sign it, and send it right back.
Tell us all about it when you are done!
When your event is done, we would love to hear about it and share your news on BillionGraves’ Facebook page.
Please send some photos of the volunteers in your group taking gravestone photos as an email attachment to Eagle@BillionGraves.com and include the answers to the following questions:
- What is the name of the cemetery you documented?
- How did you decide to do this project?
- How many people participated?
- How many gravestones did you photograph?
- Did you finish documenting the entire cemetery?
- What are some things you liked about the event?
- Did anything funny happen?
- Were there any gravestones or epitaphs that were meaningful to you?
- Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your project?
Write Your Project Report and Get Signatures
Wrapping up the paperwork details is one of the final steps of your Eagle Scout cemetery documentation project.
If you have kept good records along the way your final report will be easy.
Tips for Writing Your Report for a BillionGraves Eagle Scout Project:
- Emphasize your role as a leader (use statements like “I decided” and “I said”)
- Summarize your project
- Include what you set out to accomplish
- List steps you took to prepare
- Indicate why you chose this specific project
- Tell who your beneficiary is and how this project has helped them
- If you had a leader-mentor that instructed you, mention them by name
- Describe any problems you encountered and how you resolved them
- Photos may be included
- If you have a cemetery map you could add it to your report
- Include your feelings about the project
Gather your final signatures as required on the Eagle Scout project form.
FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ON STARTING YOUR OWN EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT CONTACT ME AT cemeterypreservationist@gmail.com