In a small community like De Soto, residents feel more like a family. Recently, De Soto High School senior Connor Cravens has made this possible with his Eagle Scout project.

Cravens built what he calls a “Blessings Box” at the De Soto United Methodist Church. The box serves to provide for the needy of the community. Anyone can put anything in the box and anyone can take from it, all anonymously. Cravens understands the importance of having basic necessities and wanted to help the less fortunate with acquiring them.

“I wanted to help those in need in the De Soto community because a lot of people in De Soto struggle,” Cravens said. “I wanted to remove the embarrassing aspect of getting some of those peoples’ basic needs.”

According to sophomore Wyatt Gray, becoming an Eagle Scout is not easy.

“Most of the merit badges you have to acquire to get your eagle take up to six months to complete,” Gray said. “There is lots of paperwork that you then have to go over with a councilor of that badge. You have to take your Eagle Scout project idea to the round table of your district and they have to approve the project.”

Not only do people who strive to become Eagle Scouts have to complete these tasks, Cravens had trouble finding a public building that would let him put the box on their property because of the restrictions that renting a building can have.

“A lot of the public buildings in De Soto are being rented from the city,” Cravens said.

As for band teacher Matthew Bradford, who teaches Cravens in symphonic band, he loves the idea.

“I think the project is a great way to support the community,” Bradford said. “It blesses those less fortunate and brings our community together.”

Giving back to the community can prove to be difficult, but Cravens has done it all with a smile on his face.