Dakota County General Volunteer and Internship Opportunities

Scouting is a great American tradition. Dakota County is a proud supporter of our local Boy Scouts who wish to complete their Eagle Scout projects in partnership with the county. To ensure your project is considered, carefully review all county and scout instructions.

Requirements

1. Read through the guidelines listed on this page. Review the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook for additional guidance. 
2. Plan for a minimum of three to four months to complete the project. (Dakota County cannot accept projects with "emergency" deadlines.)
3. Scout must be a resident of Dakota County or belong to a Dakota County-based scout troop.
4. Scout should be prepared to make all contacts and communications required to successfully complete the project with limited parental or adult involvement. Parents or adult troop leaders are welcome and encouraged to accompany scouts during all meetings with the project coordinators. However, if at any time the project coordinator observes that the project is being orchestrated by adults, the project coordinator will not sign off on the project.
5. Scout will be prepared to present themselves in a professional manner in their communications (phone calls, meetings, emails, etc.).
6. Project must be of a scope and level that can be accomplished by the scout and their group. Complicated projects that require too much adult participation, high safety issues or considerable maintenance costs will be rejected. Dakota County reserves the right to reject any project.
7. Project must be completed by your 18th birthday. Click here for more information on program eligibility and accommodations. 

Please note that county staff have official duties that take priority over Eagle Scout projects. Therefore, Eagle Scout project meetings are arranged around the county’s schedule.

Dakota County reserves the right to remove or discontinue past scout projects due to theft, vandalism, inability to maintain or lack of need.

Process

1. Scout submits a volunteer application to the county volunteer coordinator for review.
2. The scout should then send an introductory email introducing themselves as well as including what types of projects/locations they are interested in to see what opportunities might be available to the coordinator. The coordinator will then send those ideas to county staff to see if any proposed projects are a good fit.
3. If a project is available, the scout will be notified and the process will continue. If no projects are available at the time of application, the scout will be notified and the process will end until another inquiry is initiated. 
   
4. The scout will be required to meet with county staff to discuss the project. The scout should prepare a detailed description of the project,  discussion of community benefits of the project, and methods of how the project will be completed. Viable projects should address a current need that the county has, should not require excessive or expensive maintenance, and be installed in an appropriate amount of time. (The county may suggest alternative locations and/or projects where there is a greater need. The county is under no obligation to accept any project proposal).
5. Scout prepares the necessary paperwork to get the project approved through their own troop and scout office and arranges a meeting with the volunteer coordinator and/or the project manager to get any necessary signatures and further approval (if necessary).
6. Scout determines the source of funding for the project, perhaps by pursuing donations or fundraising within their troop or local community.
7. Scout does any necessary research to learn about the type of work they will be teaching others for their project. (For example, if you are doing trail work as your project, you should search for any available literature on trail design and maintenance from state agencies or your local library.)
8. Scout will sign the county release of liability forms and require all other persons that will be working on the project to sign the same form. No work can be done onsite until these forms have been issued and approved. 
9. Scout finalizes the plan for their project completion and sets up a meeting with the county volunteer coordinator to get final approval of the project, funding sources, budget and work schedule.
10. Scout notifies the county volunteer coordinator and project coordinator in advance of their first work day to arrange for a final walk-through at the site. At the final walk-through, the location for material delivery should be determined, construction locations flagged and last-minute questions answered. If scout is not doing a construction project, there will be meetings scheduled depending on projects.
11. Eagle Scouts must complete the project by leading his organized work force, not doing the work himself. If scout has chosen a project that requires construction, an adult age 25 years or older must be present.
12. Scout notifies the county volunteer coordinator and project coordinator that they have completed the project and schedules a walkthrough or wrap-up meeting. If the scout candidate has complied with the county's and scout office’s procedures and has successfully completed the project, the project manager will sign off on any paperwork that is required of the candidate. 
13. Scout gathers and prepares all paperwork and materials that will be required of them at their Eagle Scout review board. Check with your troop leader to figure out what you will need to prepare for this meeting to make sure you have accomplished everything your troop requires.
14. Good luck at your review board!

For more information

For questions about scout project guidelines and procedures, contact Garrett Zaffke at garrett.zaffke@co.dakota.mn.us or 651-438-4635.