Scattered thunderstorms, some strong during the evening, will give way to mainly clear skies after midnight. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. Low 83F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Scattered thunderstorms, some strong during the evening, will give way to mainly clear skies after midnight. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. Low 83F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Scottsdale Eagle Scout Eli Bump stands near a dugout at Chaparral Park, where his Eagle project involved some improvements to the dugouts. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

Scottsdale Eagle Scout Eli Bump stands near a dugout at Chaparral Park, where his Eagle project involved some improvements to the dugouts. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

         If you stop by Chaparral Park this weekend, you may notice something different about the dugouts on the baseball fields. 

         After years of having a bleacher and a chain link fence that kids would use to mount their bats and helmets on, the dugouts now have racks for that gear – thanks to Scottsdale Boy Scout Eli Bump, 17.

         The racks were funded through a GoFundMe campaign started by Eli, a Scout since he was 6, and assembled nearly 20 fellow Scouts had had rounded up for the project as part of his effort to attain Eagle rank, the highest in Boy Scouts.

         “This was really to support and raise money for my Eagle project and getting as many people as possible from friends to family to people that I've grown up with either through baseball or the scouts to help,” Eli said. 

         Before joining the scouts, Eli began playing tee-ball and over time baseball competed with his interest in scouting.

         The dugout project helped him pursue both passions.

         Eagle projects require a Scout to plan and execute a project that benefits the community and demonstrates leadership skills by assembling a team to carry it out.

         Eli saw this as the perfect opportunity to give back to the game he he loves and – more importantly – improve the field where he caught his first ball and launched several baseballs into the sky. 

         He originally allocated a budget of $2,000 to fund four bat racks and four helmet racks – one for each dugout at Chaparral Park that did not have one. 

         “It's to support the young kids who don't have anywhere to put their gear, it’s either underneath the benches or out in the walkways of the dugout, so it gives them more of an organized area,” Eli explained.

         With his idea in mind, Eli went to the drawing board and drew up a 44” wide, 84” tall and 16” deep helmet rack allotting each helmet to have a 12” by 12” by 12” slot supported by painted wood planks, PVC planks and steel fencing staples. 

         Eli also up a square bat storage rack to be made out of 1-and-a-half-inch diameter PVC pipe measuring 20” on all four sides and 20” in height. 

         With diagrams drawn, the next step was to convince the Boy Scout Council and Chaparral Park to let Eli and his troop take a swing at aiding the community. 

         Eli began conversing with Chaparral Park Operations Supervisor Phil Hershkowitz about the project. 

         Fortunately for Eli, the project required little persuasion and Hershkowitz greenlit it. 

         Then came the challenge of getting funding for the project. Eli started a GoFundMe page in early August and crossed his fingers hoping he would raise a minimum of $2,000. 

         The community knocked his goal out of the park and Eli wound up raising nearly $2,300 in just a week and a half. 

         He is mulling over whether to use the excess funds to fund additional activities for the troop or to donate them to the Vista Del Camino food bank. 

         With the funds secured and materials purchased, Eli rallied fellow Scouts from Troop 201 and began cutting and painting all of the supplies Aug. 20, finishing this weekend.

         Eli hopes that his act of service serves inspires more acts of community service. 

         “I don't need them to know how hard it was,” he said. “I just hope that they enjoy having a place to put all their stuff and it makes things easier on them.”

         A senior at Saguaro High School, Eli will suit up for one more season at shortstop and third base for the school's baseball program this spring.

         “I just hope that whoever uses it enjoys it and I think they should last for a long time.” 

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