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128 Tulgeywood Ln
Hero Story
Rothbury Community Church (2019-current)
2500 West Winston Rd Rothbury, MI
Volunteer hours 200
Cleaning fallen veteran headstones, clearing trash and debris away from gravesites, and general upkeep of the cemetery.
Kids Food Basket (2020-2021)
1537 S. Getty St Muskegon, MI
Hours 100
Helped sort, load and distribute sack lunches during COVID to families who would not be able to have enough food.
Montague/Whitehall trash cleanups (2019-current)
Hours 1000+
Ben leads and organizes three community clean ups in the Montague/Whitehall area. He leads plans, recruits, promotes, and volunteers side by side of the teams he recruits.
COVID-19 Frontline Worker Support (2020-current)
Hours 850
During COVID-19 Ben led an effort to promote in the community ways to support our frontline workers in our hospital system during the pandemic. He helped raise funds, donations, and collections for food and other product nurses needed and supplied care packages during the height of the pandemic.
Feeding America Truck (2022-current)
Hours 100
Help fellow Scout Mason Schlafer (also nominated by our organization) to organize, sort and pack boxes of food to distribute to the community.
Tire Environmental Collection (2022)
Hours 200
Collected tires to be shredded and used for playground, grounding. The purpose of this project is that tires do not go away and cause a lot of gases in the environment. So repurposed tires can be a safety element versus damage to the planet.
Red Cross of West Michigan (2019-current)
150 hours
Supporting local blood drives in our communities.
I first met Ben Hayes when he showed up in his Eagle Scout Uniform during a grant cycle presentation for Scouts of America at our local United Way. I was impressed to see a young person facing a grants committee to discuss and advocate for their organization on funding. That day, Ben earned my utmost respect and admiration. We learned his story as an Eagle Scout as well as his passion for scouting in our community. He was prepared with impact metrics, data, answers to community questions and testimonials. Although it is unconventional for an organization to have a teenager present for over $20,000 in funding, it was clear that their team made the correct decision. Ben was phenomenal.
The more I learned about him, the more in awe I became. As an Eagle Scout, Ben had already achieved an accomplishment only about 8% of all scouts accomplish. To be an Eagle Scout you need to prove your leadership, receive references from your local community and undergo a board review. In addition to being and Eagle Scout, Ben accomplished something only HALF A PRECENT (0.05%) of scouts complete. He earned all 139 merit badges the Scouts have to offer.
He has completed over 2,500 hours of community service in his community. Many of these bettering the community space and environment in which he lives. He has helped feed hundreds of families through Mobile Food Pantries and sack suppers. He thought creatively to meet the needs of individuals and front-line workers during the time our world was shut down. And he has inspired dozens of individuals to get involved and volunteer.
During the pandemic, Ben connected with scouts across the globe to find out what other communities were doing to support their families and frontline workers. While on these international calls Ben started to organize care kits for our nurses working in the Trinity Health hospital system. With over 50,000 positive cases of COVID-19, Muskegon County hospitals faced an overwhelming waving of sick patients. This caused strains on our doctors and nurses who often time worked double if not triple shifts to cover the care needed for our community. While they were inundated with this, Ben worked to provide support through snacks, nourishment, recognition, and medical supplies along the way. He rallied the troops behind to make sure that those who were working with our most vulnerable populations, were provided the care that they were providing others.
Finally, Ben is also an individual with autism. He speaks out and advocates for individuals with disabilities and about inclusivity. He spoke at several engagements to help connect other individuals with disabilities be included in school clubs, service leagues, and sports. He also is an advocate for anti-bullying and raises awareness of character development in his school and surround districts. This year, he is also proud to be nominated as the president of his local Future Farmers of America Association.
QUOTE:
Claudine Weber, the Chief Philanthropy Officer for Trinity Health Muskegon said Ben was the first person to ask how they could help during this second wave of the pandemic. She said, “We are grateful that he stepped up so quickly and it such a big way…..They ranged from just smiles and high-fives to really, tears of gratitude,” she said. When they can grab a healthy snack, a granola bar and some fruit snacks, it kind of gives them the fuel that they need to push on to get through their shift.”
Ben Hayes is an outstanding example of what service means to a community. He’s a leader, he’s caring, and he promotes social and environmental change in our neighborhoods. His accomplishments in scouts actually surpassed so many that their stand sash (for merit badges) were not even large enough for him to hold all 139.
His accomplishments and service are leaps and bounds ahead of his peers. He was able to accomplish so much while also navigating and overcoming barriers of his disability.
“Ben is on the autism spectrum, and it looked like when COVID hit and all the structures in life started falling apart, that Ben was going to be in real trouble because he requires a lot of structure,” says Doug Ogden, pastor of Lebanon Lutheran Church. “Instead of falling apart, he grabbed onto every single one of those badges, including some Scouting awards that some didn’t even know existed. He overcame everything, hit the ground running, and made a difference in so many lives”.
Even more, he had to overcome an early fear of communication with others. Now, he is confident, grows in his achievements, and advocates for individuals like him.
128 Tulgeywood Ln
Hero Story
Rothbury Community Church (2019-current)
2500 West Winston Rd Rothbury, MI
Volunteer hours 200
Cleaning fallen veteran headstones, clearing trash and debris away from gravesites, and general upkeep of the cemetery.
Kids Food Basket (2020-2021)
1537 S. Getty St Muskegon, MI
Hours 100
Helped sort, load and distribute sack lunches during COVID to families who would not be able to have enough food.
Montague/Whitehall trash cleanups (2019-current)
Hours 1000+
Ben leads and organizes three community clean ups in the Montague/Whitehall area. He leads plans, recruits, promotes, and volunteers side by side of the teams he recruits.
COVID-19 Frontline Worker Support (2020-current)
Hours 850
During COVID-19 Ben led an effort to promote in the community ways to support our frontline workers in our hospital system during the pandemic. He helped raise funds, donations, and collections for food and other product nurses needed and supplied care packages during the height of the pandemic.
Feeding America Truck (2022-current)
Hours 100
Help fellow Scout Mason Schlafer (also nominated by our organization) to organize, sort and pack boxes of food to distribute to the community.
Tire Environmental Collection (2022)
Hours 200
Collected tires to be shredded and used for playground, grounding. The purpose of this project is that tires do not go away and cause a lot of gases in the environment. So repurposed tires can be a safety element versus damage to the planet.
Red Cross of West Michigan (2019-current)
150 hours
Supporting local blood drives in our communities.
I first met Ben Hayes when he showed up in his Eagle Scout Uniform during a grant cycle presentation for Scouts of America at our local United Way. I was impressed to see a young person facing a grants committee to discuss and advocate for their organization on funding. That day, Ben earned my utmost respect and admiration. We learned his story as an Eagle Scout as well as his passion for scouting in our community. He was prepared with impact metrics, data, answers to community questions and testimonials. Although it is unconventional for an organization to have a teenager present for over $20,000 in funding, it was clear that their team made the correct decision. Ben was phenomenal.
The more I learned about him, the more in awe I became. As an Eagle Scout, Ben had already achieved an accomplishment only about 8% of all scouts accomplish. To be an Eagle Scout you need to prove your leadership, receive references from your local community and undergo a board review. In addition to being and Eagle Scout, Ben accomplished something only HALF A PRECENT (0.05%) of scouts complete. He earned all 139 merit badges the Scouts have to offer.
He has completed over 2,500 hours of community service in his community. Many of these bettering the community space and environment in which he lives. He has helped feed hundreds of families through Mobile Food Pantries and sack suppers. He thought creatively to meet the needs of individuals and front-line workers during the time our world was shut down. And he has inspired dozens of individuals to get involved and volunteer.
During the pandemic, Ben connected with scouts across the globe to find out what other communities were doing to support their families and frontline workers. While on these international calls Ben started to organize care kits for our nurses working in the Trinity Health hospital system. With over 50,000 positive cases of COVID-19, Muskegon County hospitals faced an overwhelming waving of sick patients. This caused strains on our doctors and nurses who often time worked double if not triple shifts to cover the care needed for our community. While they were inundated with this, Ben worked to provide support through snacks, nourishment, recognition, and medical supplies along the way. He rallied the troops behind to make sure that those who were working with our most vulnerable populations, were provided the care that they were providing others.
Finally, Ben is also an individual with autism. He speaks out and advocates for individuals with disabilities and about inclusivity. He spoke at several engagements to help connect other individuals with disabilities be included in school clubs, service leagues, and sports. He also is an advocate for anti-bullying and raises awareness of character development in his school and surround districts. This year, he is also proud to be nominated as the president of his local Future Farmers of America Association.
QUOTE:
Claudine Weber, the Chief Philanthropy Officer for Trinity Health Muskegon said Ben was the first person to ask how they could help during this second wave of the pandemic. She said, “We are grateful that he stepped up so quickly and it such a big way…..They ranged from just smiles and high-fives to really, tears of gratitude,” she said. When they can grab a healthy snack, a granola bar and some fruit snacks, it kind of gives them the fuel that they need to push on to get through their shift.”
Ben Hayes is an outstanding example of what service means to a community. He’s a leader, he’s caring, and he promotes social and environmental change in our neighborhoods. His accomplishments in scouts actually surpassed so many that their stand sash (for merit badges) were not even large enough for him to hold all 139.
His accomplishments and service are leaps and bounds ahead of his peers. He was able to accomplish so much while also navigating and overcoming barriers of his disability.
“Ben is on the autism spectrum, and it looked like when COVID hit and all the structures in life started falling apart, that Ben was going to be in real trouble because he requires a lot of structure,” says Doug Ogden, pastor of Lebanon Lutheran Church. “Instead of falling apart, he grabbed onto every single one of those badges, including some Scouting awards that some didn’t even know existed. He overcame everything, hit the ground running, and made a difference in so many lives”.
Even more, he had to overcome an early fear of communication with others. Now, he is confident, grows in his achievements, and advocates for individuals like him.