Jul 2, 2019 3 min read

A Bishop Canevin High School student set out to earn his Eagle Scout rank by collecting three baskets filled with household items for recipients of homes from Washington County Habitat for Humanity. He exceeded that goal by three 65 gallon garbage cans.

Jonathan Moyer of Washington ended up collecting three 65-gallon garbage cans filled with cleaning supplies and other household items for families in need. Moyer first reached out to Kim Gloady, executive assistant for Washington County Habitat, in the fall of 2018 to begin his project.

“My aunt recieved a house from Habitat, so I’ve always had a close connection to the program,” Moyer said.

Over the course of a few weeks, Moyer reached out to local church educational classes. From there, he distributed fliers about what he was collecting. When he went to pick up collections he was shocked to see how much people donated.

“I was surprised, but also really happy,” Moyer said. “Knowing that I’m about to make a difference means a lot.”

Moyer, who just turned 18, has been involved in scouting for 11 years. He is a member of Troop 1005 in Washington, sponsored by Immaculate Conception Church. For Moyer to have been able to try to get the rank of Eagle he had to earn 21 merit badges, demonstrate exceptional leadership in the troop and community and lead a service project to benefit a nonprofit organization in their community.

Gloady, who has worked for Habitat for five years, said she hasn’t seen anyone donate this much.

“Normally people donate money,” Gloady said. “But this is impressive. We usually don’t get things like this, especially from a high school student. It’s really nice to see him do this.”

Gloady said Habitat will be starting new construction on a house in the next few weeks. The family that will be receiving the house is a woman with her five adoptive grandchildren. She will be the first recipient of Moyer’s garbage cans.

Moyer’s mother, Cherie Moyer, said her son earned 32 merit badges, when he only needed to earn 21 to qualify for the Eagle rank.

“Obviously, I am immensely proud of Jonathan,” Cherie said. “Earning the rank of Eagle within the Boy Scouts of America demands a tremendous amount of work. Watching my son step into the leadership role necessary to earn the rank of Eagle and watching him choose such a worthwhile cause as Habitat for Humanity filled me with both joy and respect for my son.”