Apara and her helpers built a meditation area and playground at Project Pride, a women’s residential rehabilitation center in Oakland, Calif. Her project provided residents with a place to both find peace during their rehab and spend time with their children. This consisted of transforming a backyard space by adding a meditation area, playground, mural, a garden and places to sit.
Project Pride is a center that assists pregnant women and mothers, including single mothers with their children, with substance abuse treatment resources and a place to stay while they recover.
The project was split into two parts: the first workday focused on the meditation area, the second on the play area. For the first day, which ended up lasting 10 hours, Apara led a group of 25 volunteers — family, friends and Scouts — in installing sod, a gravel circle and a garden.
The following Saturday, Apara and her volunteers were back to work on the other side of the outdoor area. They built a playground, painted a mural, constructed benches and painted a hopscotch and racetrack games. Inspired by their work, the women at the center wanted to help, so Apara delegated and they helped paint the hopscotch and racetrack on the concrete.
For her exceptional efforts to help the women and children, Apara received the 2022 Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. She’s the first female Eagle Scout to be bestowed with the national award.
— Apara, Troop 36, Danville, Calif.
Read more about her project on the Scouting magazine blog.
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