In July, Reed Kotalik, a member of Troop 777 from Sam Houston Area Council, launched a service project for children in the Cleveland area. It was Reed’s desire to help children return to school in August with the supplies they needed.
He approached the Patrol Leader’s Council of his troop to request their support. The other youth leaders embraced the idea and the “Back to School Bundles” Drive was created.
Over a two-week period, Reed made personal calls to members of his community. He developed an Amazon Wish List to provide another way for people to support the project.
Members of his troop also gathered supplies. Reed scheduled an assembly with his troop to package the bundles by grade level.
On Monday, August 3, Reed delivered 650 pounds of supplies, containing more than 1,500 items, bundled for more than 100 children, to Curtis Burrell of Reach One Teach One at the Law Office of Jennifer Bergman Harkness in Cleveland. Mr. Burrell will assist with distribution of the bundles through his Reach One Teach One initiative.
Delivering the items on August 3 was significant to Reed. Each year, Reed does 21 kind acts in honor of Grant Milton. Grant suffered injuries in a playoff football game in 2016 and Reed kicked off the service day in 2017. He has since made it an annual tradition. Reed’s delivery on Monday was one of his 21 acts for 2020.