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DURHAM -- Ian Dolejs is using his Eagle Scout project to help recent amputees in Haiti.
Dolejs, 16, who has been involved in the Boy Scouts since kindergarten, was inspired to help Haiti after receiving an e-mail from a woman who was a double amputee, asking for donations of crutches for the victims of the January earthquake.
"I just thought I could do that," Dolejs said. So far, he has collected about 70 pairs of crutches, as well as walkers and canes. "I hope to collect 100 pairs," he added.
The drive began on March 4, and will continue into the first week of April. Then, Dolejs and his father, Mark, will drive the donations to Norfolk, Va.
"He's been getting a lot of responses from all over," said Steven Fishback, Dolejs' Scout master. "I have a feeling he's going to be collecting crutches for a couple of months after that."
The crutches will be brought to Physicians for Peace, who have been involved in Haiti since 2005. Physicians for Peace is a nonprofit organization that sends health care professionals overseas to provide training and education in developing nations. They will send the donated crutches to Haiti by container ship.
"So far, we have sent over 850 pairs of crutches, 60 walkers and 24 wheelchairs to Haiti," said Katherine Taylor, a communications and marketing officer for Physicians for Peace.
Dolejs is getting the word out about his drive for crutches through a Web site he's created, letters he's snail mailed, Facebook and through his church.
"Ian's project is very unique," Fishback said. "Most boys usually build something at their church or some community center."
But Dolejs decided that he didn't want to build something, because that's what everyone else does.
"He's a leader in the troop and sets a good example for the younger boys," Fishback added. "He's just a great scout."
More than 6,000 amputations reportedly have taken place in Haiti since the earthquake.
