1,000 Meals and Counting
By Rich Lankford, National Office of Development
Edited by Meredith Lopez
Born in Haiti and cared for at a local hospital after the 2010 earthquake, Jamesly Jesse knows firsthand what it means to receive help — and what it means to give it back.
In 2025, Jamesly was recognized with the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award for leading an effort that raised more than $35,000 and packed 100,000 meals for families at that very same hospital in Haiti. Now, inspired by the need that remains, he is doing it again.
Shaped by Scouting
Like other kids his age, Jamesly joined Cub Scouts in the first grade, drawn in by camping, friendship, adventure, and especially cooking. Over time, it became something far more formative.
“I think Scouting has helped me grow a lot in how I handle conversations with adults and how I treat other people,” Jamesly said. “You learn to treat people the way you want to be treated. It also teaches respect for your peers and your elders. And you learn that you should always be willing to volunteer and help someone when they need it.”
Jamesly’s parents have watched that growth firsthand. “At first it was just fun and something he did with friends,” his mother Mary said. “But over time we saw him learn life lessons and develop maturity.”
His father Nathan had one word for the quality that grew most: “Confidence. When [Jamesly] makes a decision, he sticks with it no matter what comes his way.”
Now a high school senior, Jamesly plays baseball and runs a small meal prep business — pursuits that reflect the same discipline and initiative that have defined his Scouting journey.
A Mission Rooted in Gratitude
When Jamesly set out to earn his Eagle Scout rank, he chose a project as personal as it was ambitious: raise enough support to pack meals for children and families at the hospital in Milot, Haiti, where he had once been a patient.
“The hospital where these meals are going is the same hospital that cared for Jamesly after the 2010 earthquake,” Mary shared.
His parents were nervous at first. “We joked that we didn’t want to have to mortgage our house,” Nathan recalled. But Jamesly never wavered.
“He kept saying, ‘Why wouldn’t people want to help?'” Mary said.
What started as an Eagle Scout service project grew into something far larger. When Jamesly’s project team realized, just weeks before the event, that they didn’t yet have enough volunteers, they turned to social media and local churches. More than 400 people showed up to help, and the effort ultimately raised more than $35,000 and funded 100,000 meals.
His Eagle Scout project experience reshaped how Jamesly thinks about being a leader: “Leadership isn’t about forcing people to help. It’s about inviting them to join you. When people believe in the project, they step up and help lead as well.”
The Work Isn’t Done
While it was a significant accomplishment, the Adams Award was not the end of Jamesly’s Eagle Scout story. He is now organizing a second meal-packing event to provide another 50,000 meals for families in Haiti, an effort that will require raising roughly $22,000.
Jamesly is quick to acknowledge that the follow-up project comes with new challenges. “Sometimes people see [this project] as something we’ve already done before, so they don’t jump in right away,” he said. “It can take a little longer to get donations or volunteers.”
But for Jamesly, this work has never been about recognition. It is about meeting a real and ongoing need, one that creates impact both abroad and at home.
“The people in Haiti benefit because they receive food and nutrients,” he said. “But our community benefits too because people come together to help another community even if they’ve never met them.”
To younger Scouts who might face doubt or difficulty in their own projects, his advice is simple: “Don’t give up. When things are difficult, that’s usually when you grow the most.”
Jamesly’s story is about gratitude turned into action, service rooted in personal experience, and a young man using everything Scouting has given him to keep giving back. Because of Scouting, he is prepared. And because he is prepared, more families will be fed.
Learn more about Jamesly’s efforts to pack another 50,000 meals.
Explore More Stories
