Eagle Scout project will benefit Read to Sydney

Elijah Kelly is only 14 years old, but he's already embarking on his Eagle Scout project, which he hopes to complete by Christmastime.

A family friend who takes her children to the nonprofit Sydney's Reading and Learning Center at the West Oaks Mall in Ocoee suggested to Elijah's mother that it might be a great place for a Boy Scout looking for an Eagle project.

Elijah decided to make it his project, and he is working with Thom Battisto to take care of some needs in the nonprofit organization's new location in the mall. Through its Read to Sydney program, children can take turns reading to one of several dogs.

“I've been doing a lot of collecting books so when (Battisto) goes out to schools, (he can) donate books and have a little bit more books here to have for them to actually read,” Elijah said. “I'm actually doing beanbag chairs so kids don't have to sit on the floor. And they can be closer to the dogs so they're more comfortable. And I'm also getting mats for the dogs to sit on the floor.”

He is providing a table and chairs for waiting parents, as well. And there's one more piece that Elijah is most excited about.

“We're actually getting wood, and we're building an ADA-required table so kids in a wheelchair can wheel up to the table, and there's going to be dog steps, and the dogs can go up on the table and sit next to the kid in the wheelchair.”

In addition, the scout is holding a book drive for Ready to Sydney with a goal of collecting 500 books to be donated for the program. He already has surpassed 300.

Battisto is thrilled for his reading program to be on the receiving end of such a big project.

“It's very exciting,” he said. “He's doing a great job. It's going to bring a lot of awareness to our program, and with the books he's collecting, every child who comes in gets to take a book home with him, so that's more books we can give away.”

Battisto wants to start a tutoring and homework help program, so Elijah is working to build a computer desk and have a computer available. If there's enough money left over, he is thinking of building a storage cabinet.

“I'm all about doing something that has a benefit to someone,” Elijah said.

When planning his fundraising campaign, the scout wrote a letter to President Trump, asking for a donation.

“I just thought, well, he's a billionaire and he has money, and it would be nice to get a benefit from it,” he said. “Why not get a jump start from a billionaire?”

To donate to Elijah's Eagle Scout project, make checks out to BSA Troop 998 and send them to c/o Read to Sydney, P.O. Box 1519, Minneola FL 34755. Books can be dropped off at South Lake Karate Academy, 2205 Cluster Oak Drive, Clermont, or donors can contact Elijah's mother, Paula Kelly, at [email protected] to arrange for a pickup.

Troop 998 meets at Family Christian Center in Lake County.

Contact Amy Quesinberry at [email protected].