Zachary Levitt replaced bricks and stones at the site, power washed the area and painted a fence.
Mt. Laurel resident Zachary Levitt is a young man of few words, but his Eagle Scout project will leave an impact that will last longer than any words ever could.
For his project, Levitt designed, planned and led a team last October to install new blocks and stones, paint a fence and clean the area surrounding a memorial honoring veterans in nearby Lumberton.
For his hard work and dedication to completing the project, Levitt was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout by the Boy Scouts of America and honored by Mt. Laurel Township at a recent township council meeting.
According to Levitt, he first heard about the memorial in Lumberton from a fellow Eagle Scout, who had also completed his project in the area.
“Initially, the thing was overrun with weeds, the fence had peeling paint, and there was dirt on the sign,” he said. “I heard about it from the Lumberton Shade Tree Committee and I decided this project was the one that interested me.”
Levitt, a member of local Boy Scout Troop 76, said the physical work of the project took place over the course of multiple days split between two weekends.
Work included using a power washer to clear dirt and grime that had built up around the memorial, replacing older red bricks with new granite blocks, using polymeric sand to fill in cracks between the blocks, painting the fence surrounding the memorial, laying down landscape fabric to prevent weeds and then filling the ground of the memorial with 5,000 pounds of Delaware River Stone.
“The largest part was carrying all the river stones over, because we had to get about four or five wheelbarrows and we all had to go back and forth,” Levitt said.
For the project, G.W. Lippincott’s Supply in Mt. Holly donated the blocks and stones, Burlington Design Center in Mt. Laurel donated the paint and brushes and members of his father’s Corvette Club and a coworker of his mother donated funds.
With those donations, Levitt was able to complete the project without needing to undertake fundraising activities, as is sometimes required by other Eagle Scout projects.
According to Levitt, becoming an Eagle Scout is something that’s interested him since the time he joined Scouts in fourth grade, when he and his family moved to the area.
“I just wanted to accomplish something,” Levitt said. “It felt great and it paid off a large amount of work. It was long-term goals finally coming to an end.”
In addition to becoming an Eagle Scout, Levitt said he’s enjoyed being outdoors and the camping trips afforded to him through his time with Boy Scouts.
“You go out there, you set up a tent, and you relax doing nothing or walking through the woods for a day,” Levitt said. “It’s nice, simple and easy.”
Looking toward the future, Levitt said he hopes to pursue his interest in design and building by becoming an engineering major.
