Scout Project Enhances and Provides Outdoor Activity for Older Adults

COLUMBUS, Ohio ­- Residents living at Lincoln Village on the westside of Columbus, Ohio, received a special outdoor gift from eight local Scouts over the weekend. The Scouts planned and built two, 4' x 8' raised garden beds to enhance the recently donated and installed paver patio outside the assisted living community.

"This is an amazing project," said Executive Director Kyle Schmidlapp of Lincoln Village. "These new flower beds add aesthetic appeal to the patio and should help foster a sense of connection and engagement among our residents as they become involved in gardening."

Adam Harrington, age 17, led the team of Scouts and adult volunteers on April 20. Harrington's working toward earning his Eagle Scout badge, which is the highest designation in Boy Scouts of America. In order to achieve the Eagle Scout rank, Harrington must complete a series of requirements over several years, including a community project. Harrington developed the project, made a step-by-step plan, raised the funds to pay for it, provided directions to the Scouts before construction began and then guided them through building the raised garden beds.

While developing ideas for his Eagle Scout project, Harrington visited Lincoln Village on the advice of his father, who has served as the consulting pharmacist for this community for several years. "When I got here and saw this patio, there was just benches. I thought that we could add something here for the seniors to do," said Harrington, a member of the National Honor Society and a junior at Dublin Scioto High School.

During the six-hour project, the event became an intergenerational meeting with many residents visiting with the young volunteers and watching as they built the raised garden boxes and then anchored them in the ground. "Many residents came out and talked to the kids and thanked them, which really got them excited," said Adam's father, Don Harrington.

Finally, each garden bed was filled with rich topsoil for growing flowers, fruits and vegetables. This patio space also will be used for games, barbecues, picnics, as well as other resident-centered and family-oriented events.

The volunteers from Boy Scout Troop 185 and its sister Troop 581, both based at Dublin Community Church in Dublin, Ohio, also supplied residents with empty plastic flower pots that the activities department will work with the residents to decorate, which then can be used for sowing their own flowers and other plants. Looking ahead, Lincoln Village also plans to introduce additional features and landscaping on the property to further enrich the outdoor experience for its vibrant community of older adults.

About National Church Residences

Originating from a Christian commitment of service, National Church Residences provides an array of health care services and a variety of housing options to 50,000 seniors. The nonprofit organization is driven by a vision to scale for mission impact by advancing better living for 100,000 seniors by 2030, wherever they call home. With more than 360 communities across the United States, it is the nation's largest nonprofit provider of affordable senior housing and the largest manager of service coordinators. The organization also offers a variety of additional senior living options, home and community-based services, as well as permanent supportive housing for the formerly homeless and disabled. For more information, visit us at NationalChurchResidences.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.