The Eagle Scout stands by the bike desk he made for SVdP.
The Hope Lens

Cycling for sustainability

A local Eagle Scout gave SVdP a special desk that generates electricity from exercise!

When it was time for Marco Fissore to choose his Eagle Scout service project, the project that is the culmination of a scout's many years in the Boy Scouts of America, he wasn't sure what to choose. He asked his brother, also a scout who had consulted St. Vincent de Paul about his own project a few months earlier, what he should do. Marco's brother told him that Shawn Donnelly, the director of community engagement at SVdP, sent him an idea about a project that he hadn't used.

He got the plans, and saw that it was for a work station that would generate it's own power from cycling on connected a stationary bike. It could be used by staff or a guest who wants to charge a device while getting some important exercise in. With some experience in electronics, and the help of his engineer father, Marco knew he could do it.

Marco and his dad connect the bike to the desk so it can generate power.

Plus, Marco had volunteered at SVdP before, and was inspired by the guests and staff, so he knew that the project would be going to a community that would really benefit from anything he had to bring.

"I thought it'd be better it'd be nice to add more to a community like this," Marco said. 

Marco and his dad test out the bike to make sure it generates power.

So he set off, and with plenty of hard work and elbow grease, he finished the desk and brought it to SVdP just in time for Earth Day!

Currently, the desk is housed in SVdP's Family Evening Meal, so kids can charge their phones while getting some all-important exercise. And the staff is excited to see how it'll be used in the years to come.

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