Poway scout receives President’s Volunteer Service Award for temple project

Anand Nair, a Life Scout in Troop 682 and a junior at Poway to Palomar Middle College, was inspired by fellow scouts whose Eagle projects had positive impacts on their communities.

When he started thinking about his Eagle project, he decided he wanted to do the same thing for the community he is part of — the Shiva Vishnu Temple in Poway.

Ashok Tipirneni, a board director at the Hindu temple, said Nair came and presented the idea for his project in early 2022.

When leaders told Nair the temple needed some new shoe racks, he built five. When they mentioned that a few benches for meditation would be nice, Nair built two using high-quality materials.

"When it started out I noticed there were a couple of things they put in there initially and they’re trying to build more on top of it. That's when I felt like I could be a part of and actually bring some ideas onto the table," Nair said.

It was this work ethic and attitude of service that prompted the board of directors at the temple to nominate Nair for the President's Volunteer Service Award, Tipirneni said.

Nair and his family were asked by the temple's board to stop by on Feb. 12 so they could thank him and present him with an award.

"Initially they said this was the president's award so we thought it was the temple president or something," said Manju Nair, Anand Nair's mother. "Then we saw President Biden's signature."

The President's Volunteer Service Award is given to those committed to strengthening their community through volunteer service. As a recipient of the award, Nair was given a medallion, certificate of achievement and a congratulatory letter signed by President Biden.

Craig Dickson, scoutmaster of Troop 682, said this was the first time in his 10 years of being a scoutmaster that he's seen a scout earn this achievement through an Eagle project. A Life Scout, the second highest rank below Eagle Scout, does an Eagle project to earn the rank.

"You have to demonstrate leadership in doing some kind of service project, there's not an hour requirement or anything. The real purpose is to build service, demonstrate leadership, work with other people and to use the resources available," Dickson said.

Nair's year-long project at the temple took about 100 hours for planning, fundraising, gathering materials and building improvements. As needs for the temple came up, Nair adapted to these and took them on as additions to his project, Tipirneni said .

"He started out really small but as he saw the need for all the things that were happening there he just went ahead and did it all by himself," Tipirneni said. "Great initiation from him to look beyond ‘Oh I’ve got to do a project,’ it was more ‘Hey, how can I help, I know the temple and the community.’"

Following a meeting with the temple to see the needs they had, Nair began fundraising to tackle the top priority — outside benches for meditation. He started a GoFundMe so members of the community could support the project, and within a day Nair had raised more than double the amount of money needed — over $1,000 in donations.

"Getting all the funds really helped us make sure quality was the top priority," he said.

Nair decided to use Trex, a wood alternative made from recycled materials, for the surface of the bench. He said the idea came from seeing his parents using the material in their house and noticing how well it blended with the home and surroundings.

Since Trex isn't made from actual wood it provides a very smooth surface so those wearing traditional clothing like a sari or dhoti won't have to worry about the delicate material getting caught on and damaged by splinters from a wooden surface, he said.

Nair recruited the help of a contractor to cut the material into planks. Once the two benches were built, Nair gathered his friends to help with the painting.

"It was really fun working with them and it felt like time flew," said Nair, who had transferred from Rancho Bernardo High School to Poway to Palomar Middle College at the start of the school year. "It was great seeing them again.

"When I switched schools I wasn't sure if I would get to see them again but this project gave me that chance," Nair said.

The second element of Nair's Eagle project was possible with the remaining funds, which allowed him to buy the materials needed to build five new shoe racks outside the temple entrance. His mother explained that it's customary in Indian culture to not wear shoes inside homes or temples.

Nair built sturdy two-tiered racks so elderly visitors of the temple could sit on the top portion of the rack to take off and put on their shoes while storing them on the lower rack.

Looking back on his Eagle project and those from fellow scouts, Nair said he most valued being a part of a group that leaves a positive impact on the community. Nair's father, Praveen Nair, said he believes he's done exactly that being the first scout to do this kind of work for the temple.

"He really wanted to contribute. For us this is a spiritual home for our community so then for years to come this will stay," his father said.

Nair is continuing to work toward his Eagle Scout rank and after the paperwork for his project is complete, he will only be a few merits away from achieving this goal. He said he hopes his project can be an inspiration for others to invest in their surrounding community.

"You don't need to wait. Just step out, take a look around you and take in everything and see where you can fit in," he said.