To become an Eagle Scout — the highest honor in Boy Scouts — candidates must complete a project that benefits their community.
For Fort Myers Eagle Scout candidate Scott Kula, that project entails building a small library, affectionately named the Little Free Library, on the Southwest Florida Historical Society’s grounds.
“You open a door, and there will be shelves with some books on it, so you basically take one and leave one,” Kula said.
The Little Free Library is planned to be a small box with two shelves, the bottom one being for children’s books. The box will sit on a wheelchair-accessible post.
Kula has also been tasked with showing leadership, budgeting, and time management skills for the project. He’s accomplished this by directing his fellow troop members, and keeping a checklist.
The Southwest Florida Historical Society sees the Little Free Library as yet another opportunity to give back to the community, and for greater outreach.
Kelley Marhenke, president of the Society, believes that the new addition to the Historical Society will combat some woes of the current times.
“I think that's it's so important these days, especially when kids are on their tablets all day long,” Marhenke said. “And I don’t think kids read enough. This is a non-judgmental way to get these kids out of the house, away from that television, away from their computer screens and their tablets.”
Kula and his troop plan to be done with the library by the end of the month. Its color scheme will match the unique yellow and green of the Historical Society.
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