Eagle Scout project turns tables into food bank help
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Scouts from Troop 615 at Wesley United Methodist Church load four picnic tables into a truck for the Golden Harvest Food Bank. The tables were made by Philip Lyons for his Eagle Scout Project.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
What Philip Lyons gained from building four picnic tables totaled more than the effort he put into it.
A rising junior at Greenbrier High School, Philip, 16, supervised the construction of four picnic tables on behalf of Golden Harvest Food Bank to qualify as an Eagle Scout.
On Wednesday, representatives from the food bank picked up the finished products.
"He had to take a leadership role in this project and be responsible for its completion," Philip's mother, Martha, said. "I think this has made him mature."
Philip first joined the Boy Scouts of America in first grade. An Evans resident, he belongs to Troop 615, which meets at Wesley United Methodist Church where he and his fellow scouts constructed the 8-foot by 6-foot tables.
"It took us about nine hours," he said. "It went really well and (with my fellow Boy Scouts) helping me, we got it done quick."
The tables will provide an outdoor lounging area for Golden Harvest volunteers and employees, said Laurie Harmon, a spokeswoman for the food bank.
"We utilize many, many volunteers, and they will help us to provide a good break area for volunteers and employees but mostly with the volunteers in mind," she said.
Philip Lyons built these picnic tables for the food bank.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
"People who come to help us out of the kindness of their hearts, we want to take care of them as best we can."
Two tables went to Golden Harvest's main building at 3310 Commerce Drive and the others went to their warehouse annex at 1831 Old Savannah Road, Harmon said.
Troop 615 Scoutmaster Dee Costello praised Philip's efforts and growth through the project.
"He came to us with his (older) brother, David, who had just achieved his Eagle Scout rank," Costello said. "I think he felt a little overshadowed. Our guys have tried to encourage him that he can do it himself and stand on his own. That's what he did."