In a town like Moorestown, there aren’t very many projects available to a teenager looking to earn an Eagle Scout badge. It took 17-year old Kirk Zimmer Jr. a little while to find his project, but when he did, he dove in headfirst.
“I was talking to my beneficiary and he suggested restoring the Mount Carmel Cemetery wrought iron fence,” Zimmer said. “When I looked at the fence, I knew it wasn’t going to be a one-man job, but I also knew that the work needed to get done.”
Before Zimmer could even formulate a plan for how to attack the work, he had to find some volunteers.
“That was definitely a little tough,” he said. “Since the project was hands on, I figured it was going to be hard to find anyone who wanted to help, but it wasn’t actually as hard as I thought it was going to be.”
Zimmer was creative, using the Moorestown interact feature of the Moorestown High School website to spread the word. He also gathered a few of his fellow Scouts from Troop 601 to fill out the team. When the group descended on the cemetery on Aug. 2, 25 volunteers surrounded Zimmer.
“The turnout was amazing,” he said. “I am really thankful to everyone who came out and helped me. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Zimmer also relied on the generosity of some local businesses, including Moorestown Hardware Store, which donated $800 worth of materials, and Home Depot.
And while it was a long process getting the people and materials ready, the work was still ahead of them.
“The work wasn’t easy,” Zimmer said. “It was hot and humid, but everyone made the best out of it, and we all had fun.”
To start with, the volunteers had to scrape away the rust and loose paint that was flaking off the fence. Once that was gone, the volunteers started spraying. In total, it took three and a half hours and 114 cans of spray paint to finish the job.
Looking to the future, Zimmer isn’t sure about what his next volunteer project will be. He does have plans to continue with volunteering, but as of now, he will be admiring the work he has already done.
“Looking at the work we did, it looks great,” he said. “Anyone visiting the cemetery will definitely notice a difference, and even people just walking by will be able to see what we did. I’m very proud of our efforts, and I’m glad we were able to make Moorestown an even nicer place.”
