Methodist Church Sign Construction Brandon Capps Troop 340: West Point, VA

Project Description:

There is a sign located at the entranceway to the West Point United Methodist Church which is damaged due to weather events and termites which needs to be replaced. There area in which the sign is located is fairly bare and does not leave a lot of room to be worked with. My project will include the digging out of the area, the creation of a brick enclosure for the new sign, and the replacement of landscaping such as plants and bushes. What group will benefit from the project? The West Point United Methodist Church 804-843-34861020 Main Street West Point, VA 23181. My project will benefit this group because: The church itself will not have to pay for the project, allowing church funds to be directed toward other programs and expenses that it may have. Not only will it improve the look of the church itself, but it will also please members of the community who have been waiting to see something like this done with the area, many of which are active members of the United Methodist Church congregation.

Present condition of project area: Currently, the area is a fairly open plot of land. It has minor construction debris, and a few dying shrubs. The ground itself is pretty level, and should not be too difficult to work with. Method: First, materials will be gathered, and then I will begin to seek out volunteers to complete the job. Once I have volunteers, I will instruct them on what work needs to be done, how to do the work, and then supervise and assist as necessary. After the labor (digging, clean-up of debris, etc.) is completed, the sign will be put into place, dirt will be filled back in (including fertilizer for better plant growth), and landscaping will be placed. Project helpers: Members of troop 340 as well as a few select members from the community will easily be enough to complete this project.

Schedule: The tentative schedule is to have all funds acquired by no later than mid-June, and for all aspects of the project to be completed by no later than the end of August. Total estimated cost of the project (including necessary paid labor and materials): This project should probably end up costing somewhere around $1,000, if not more. Obtaining funds: The current plan is that, once the project is approved, I will call businesses to see if they would be willing to donate money and/or supplies. If there is a need beyond that, an event such as a car wash or sale of some kind can be organized. Hazards/safety: Considering the nature of this project, there are really only two manners in which people could potentially be at risk. One manner is horseplay, which will not be allowed on the site simply because we will be working with potentially dangerous tools and materials. The other concern would be that of hydration, due to the fact that at this time of year temperatures are usually pretty high. We will be working mostly during the earlier parts of the day to avoid the sun and heavy heat, and there will be plenty of water available to all volunteers working on the project.

Materials and approximate costs: For this project, the materials list is fairly simple. We will need brick (some donated, and some purchased [$500.00]), 4 bags of masonry cement ($100.00), shovels (tools I already own), trowers (tools owned by volunteers working on the project), soil/fertilizer ($50.00), and foliage to replace once the project is completed (100.00). Donations received: Virginia Veranian donated money to the building of the enclosure from a memorial fund that was dedicated to the construction of this new sign.

Mark Charnock donated a great deal of his time and many of the materials used to complete this project. Though there was payment for some of the work that he did, much of it was done for free and what was paid for he did at a greatly reduced price from the normal rates.

“Before” photograph:

Hours I spent working on the project: Planning: 15Carrying out: 30Total: 45 Hours spent by other volunteers working on the project (dates included): Chance- 3 6/28/11Travis Graham- 6 6/28/11 and 7/9/11Wiley Crowe- 2 6/28/11Peter Burnhardt- 2 6/28/11Matthew Neale- 3 6/28/11Clay Massok- 3 6/28/11 and 7/9/11Seth Perry- 2 6/29/11Aaron Perry- 2 6/29/11John Davenport- 5 6/11/11Mark Charnock- 30 6/21/11-7/9/11Chris Vincent- 30 6/2/11-8/15/11

Total number of hours others spent working on the project: 88 hours were spent by others on this project. Grand total of hours spent working on this project: In total, 133 hours were spent planning and completing this project.

Changes made to the project: In total, only one change was made to the project, and that was to accommodate the size of the sign that was to be placed into the enclosure. The original plan had the enclosure dimensions as being a 2x8x2 enclosure, whereas once the sign arrived, we discovered that it actually needed to be a 3.3x10x2 enclosure.

“After” photograph: