When now Eagle Scout candidate Colin Wolf unveiled a new communications board to a group of Havel Elementary students, he knew immediately that his community service project had made a difference.
“One of the kids pointed to the love sign and that made me happy,” he said.
The heart was one of the symbols that non-verbal special education students can use with their new communications board, which the Eisenhower sophomore built on the Havel playground for his Eagle Scout project.
The board has a series of images, words and places that the students can point to communicate with their teachers and other Havel staff supporting them.
“This communication board will be used as a tool for non verbal students to independently express their wants and needs,” Principal Kristina Tepper said. “The students are in awe!”
Wolf got the idea from his mother – Havel media specialist Holly Wolf – who would talk about the importance of students in the AIM (Adjusted, Integrated, Modified) program needing additional resources to communicate with staff members.
A Scout since he was six, Wolf used the community service idea of a communications board as the required service project
He began fund raising and working on the project in mid-March with the help of other Troop 156 members. In addition to installing the Board earlier this month, Wolf and his fellow Scouts also cleaned up the playground areas, donated additional playground toys and created an additional board students can use indoors.
Wolf said he was able to see the immediate value of his work for the students, which he hopes spurs other similar projects in playgrounds across UCS.
“I feel like I have helped the students become more independent and have made their education easier,” he said. “That in and of itself makes you feel that you did something that can help a lot of people.”
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