Homeless Eagle Scouts in America

Originally posted on 24hourcampfire.  Reprinted with permission of the author "Birdwatcher" of San Antonio, Tx.

Title:  I dunno how many legally homeless Eagle Scouts there are...

...but there's one more tonight

Marcos is one of those kids that by rights should have crashed and burned a long time ago. Since he was five, back when she had custody, his mom would leave him alone for days at a time in charge of the younger kids in the house. Since then he bounced around through a series of foster homes and relatives' houses. Over the last couple of years I would sometimes drive him home from school to his aunt's, where he sort of lived, sometimes sleeping out in the yard when he was locked out. Since Middle School he has supported himself by buying candy and reselling to the other kids at school at a profit, and clothes of course were an odd assortment. When he was seventeen he was finally declared legally homeless.


What he did right all this time was have perfect attendance at school and know enough to accept the help of adults who would care about his welfare. An honors student, he is also active in a local church and has stuck with the Boy Scouts all this time. He's been staying at our house for a few months now, graduates next month.

....and he's an Eagle Scout

Post Script

Twenty-six donations in. One thousand four hundred and forty dollars collected

Well, we certainly can cover a laptop and driving school I would think.

Given the funds on hand, the next item on the agenda is a mountain bike Marcos has never had one, has hardly had bikes at all, always wanted one.

The official motive is to help him get in shape for the military, which is where conversations are headed at this point. The services have ever been a pathway for young men of little means to get a jump-start on life.

With smart shopping we could get him a workable bike that wont break easily with what we have in hand already, tho' it won't be fancy or top-drawer. Doesn't need to be either, as its gonna get taken to scout camp for a couple of months and then be used as basic transportation.

When I mentioned how we could prob'ly swing a bike too and how we should go shopping this weekend the impression I got from Marcos was that all of this was finally becoming like his best Christmas ever

Money well sent guys, thank you.

Mike (aka, Birdwatcher)
 

There are still awesome people in this world.  It looks like somebody suggested starting a kitty to help this young man make his way in this world.