By Lori BODNAR, intern

Seventh grader and La Crescenta resident Matt Blood has, at an unusually young age, completed all the requirements for his Eagle Scout project to earn the prestigious honor. For his project, Blood replaced the benches at Mountain Avenue Elementary School. He organized and oversaw a team that included 58 Scouts and other community members who spent over 180 hours in three months replacing eight worn benches at the school, which was recently honored with the coveted Blue Ribbon School Award (see Oct. 8 issue of CV Weekly).

Blood said, “We cut, sanded and stained 156 pieces of redwood planks for the benches. We then drilled holes in all the wood in order to assemble the redwood pieces to form eight benches that fit in a square around two trees in the open courtyard at the school.”
The work was hard but well worth it.

“This project beautifies the school and brings pride to the students and staff. The benches allow parents, students and staff to sit under the shade of a tree to visit, listen to assemblies and study,” he said. “I am an alumnus of Mountain Avenue. I love my elementary school. I love the principal and all the teachers. I wanted to create something that would last a long time and would beautify the school.”

Choosing and completing a project during the pandemic presented its own challenges. The team followed strict COVID-19 prevention guidelines while working on the project.

“All of the volunteers staggered their participation so there was never a large crowd. We spread out the workload over four Saturdays. Most of the time was spent at my home, except for one hour on a Saturday to install the benches at Mountain Avenue, since Mountain Avenue has around 60 students currently at school in technology learning pods,” Blood said. “Each volunteer working on the project wore a mask, socially distanced and had their temperature taken. We used lots of hand sanitizer!”

Blood has been a Boy Scout for six years and has already achieved the rank of Life Scout, the second highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts. He is in Troop 390 and has been mentored by his dad, David Blood, who is the scoutmaster of the troop, and Doug Heder and Jon Allen, the assistant scoutmasters of Troop 390.

“I love being a Boy Scout,” Blood said. “I enjoy camping and serving others. I have learned leadership skills and outdoor survival techniques. I remember an epic hike up Mount Lukens. It was a super hot day and a lot of the boys started to complain and wanted to turn back, but our Scout leaders encouraged us to forge ahead. I’m so glad we did. When we reached the summit, the view was spectacular. I felt such a sense of accomplishment!”

Blood comes from a long family of Eagle Scouts.

“I am a fourth generation Eagle Scout. My great grandfather, my two grandfathers, my dad, my brother, nine uncles and 12 cousins are all Eagle Scouts. For the past year, I have also had the leadership position as a troop guide for a younger Cub Scout troop. I love it!”