Junior Earns Rank of Eagle Scout

After dedicating 10 years to Scouting, Seth Vetter '26 earned the highest level of achievement in the Scouts BSA program by planning, organizing, leading and managing an Eagle Scout project to make hospital stays a little more comfortable for young patients at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD).

Seth worked with CHKD's patient experience coordinator as he established his plan to make quilts for the children who receive treatment at the hospital. With a goal of producing 15 quilts, Seth quickly got to work on researching the cost of materials and procuring those materials and any necessary tools, some of which he secured through donations from family and local businesses, including The Fabric Shoppe on Bennetts Pasture Road, 84 Lumber on Nansemond Parkway and AIM Services, Inc., with offices in Suffolk and Chesapeake. Seth also helped build quilting frames, which were later used to help keep the quilt layers together during assembly.

After writing his project proposal and receiving approval from CHKD, his scoutmaster and the Colonial Virginia Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Seth gathered with fellow Scouts BSA members, young people from his church and participating adults to put the quilts together. Seth reserved a large room in his church building for the event, which he scheduled for May 4, 2024, also known as Star Wars Day. He worked with the audiovisual expert from his church to set up a small sound system, and showed "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" while everyone was quilting. The movie seemed fitting not just for the unofficial holiday, but for the project itself, with the quilts designed to bring warmth and a little hope to their eventual recipients.

In total, Seth's efforts led to the creation of 17 quilts and a total of 336 service hours donated by himself and the volunteers he recruited.

After the quilts were completed and Seth formally donated them to CHKD, he got to work on a report that summarized his project, including how he executed it, how he budgeted for it and the lessons he learned. He submitted his work to CHKD's patient experience coordinator, his scoutmaster and the Colonial Virginia Council of the Boy Scouts of America for approval in preparation for his Eagle Scout Board of Review, which took place on Nov. 4. Seth officially earned the rank of Eagle in February during his Eagle Scout Court of Honor.

While carrying out this project was impressive, it wasn't the only thing Seth had to do to earn the rank of Eagle. In addition to completing a community service project, Eagle Scouts must be active as a Life Scout for at least six months, earn at least 21 merit badges and hold positions of leadership within their troop. Seth held several leadership positions with his troop and earned 33 merit badges.

Congratulations to Seth on this amazing accomplishment!