Eagle Scout music at Legacy Village
By Celeste McNeil; photos courtesy of Russell Christensen
Gathering to enjoy the gift of music, residents at Legacy Village fill the lobby for much-welcomed live musical performances, thanks to an Eagle Project.
Local Boy Scout Russell Christensen recently finished his Eagle Scout Service Project, which benefited Legacy Village Assisted Living and Memory Care. Christensen realized the Legacy Village residents hadn’t had as much personal interaction with others due to COVID precautions, and he wanted to help.
“I did some research about the effects of music on elderly people and found out that music has many positive impacts on the elderly. I thought that doing some sort of musical project in a senior living facility would be beneficial to the residents, so I decided on having musical performances at Legacy Village,” Christensen said.
Christensen organized more than 40 volunteers to perform weekly musical numbers for two months. “The performances were held in the lobby and residents were invited to come and listen. We had piano, violin, singing, harps, and many more instruments,” said Christensen.
It was a little tricky to find enough volunteers to fill all the performance slots, so Christensen recruited many friends and acquaintances to help. People of all ages, from children to adults, stepped up to fill Legacy Village with music.
Rock Canyon High School freshman Russell Christensen plays the piano at Legacy Village as part of his Eagle Scout Service Project.
Christensen was proud of his project, saying, “I thought the project was a big success because as the weeks went on, more and more people started showing up to watch the musical performances. The residents seemed to look forward to the performances every week, so I thought it had a positive impact on them. They really enjoyed having people do live performances.”
An Eagle Project requires at least 100 hours of community service, the leadership and organizational skills to make it happen, among other constraints. There are additional criteria to earn the highest rank in Boy Scouts, including completion of at least 21 merit badges.
Christensen values the life lessons he learned through the scouting program, and how those experiences have helped shape his life so far. Christensen, a freshman at Rock Canyon High School, listed leadership skills specifically as a pertinent ability.
“It felt great to complete the project because I have been working to complete my Eagle Project for a long time, and it was rewarding to see the impact the project had on the residents at Legacy Village,” Christensen said.
