Jake Feirson of Boy Scout Troop 737 has taken on a project to help children a world away from his Clarksville home.

Feirson, 16, has been gathering books to send to Books for Africa, a nonprofit organization which delivers books to children in Africa.

The project will fulfill the last requirement for him to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, scouting's highest rank.

Feirson said he became interested in finding a way to help kids in Africa while researching life in Darfur for a high school project during his sophomore year at River Hill High School.

At first, Feirson said he wanted to send care packages to Darfur, but his uncle, who works for the state department, advised against this because of the logistical problems such an undertaking would present. So Feirson, like most high-schoolers, turned to the Internet and found the home page of the group, www.booksforafrica.org.

"I contacted them and then developed a plan to collect books," Feirson said.

He then organized other scouts in the troop to help him with the project. Demonstrating leadership is a requirement of the Eagle Scout project, Feirson said.

"Planning the project took the longest amount of time," said Feirson who began his preparations in January.

One of the problems Feirson had to overcome was how to get the books to Books for Africa, which is based in St. Paul, Minn., and how to finance shipping which Feirson found out would be $20 for every 50 pounds. Feirson said he came up with the idea to contact UPS in Elkridge which agreed to ship the books at no cost.

This past Saturday, Sept. 13, under Feirson's direction, books were collected from the community at the Clarksville Fire Station. Feirson said 1,500 flyers were passed out to advertise the book drop off.

"The community was very generous," Feirson said. Close to five boxes of books were collected including 45 Algebra textbooks donated by Clarksville Middle School, Feirson said.

Two-fold benefit of project

Helping to make a difference in the lives of others has been gratifying, Feirson said. At the same time the project has made a difference in his life.

"I learned how to lead and deal with the business side of things," Feirson said.

Feirson said he was "shocked" to see a project like this through from beginning to end.

"I never thought something like this would happen," he said.

Next year will mark the end of 11 years in scouting for Feirson, six in Cub Scout Pack 702 and five in Boy Scout Troop 737.

The Eagle Scout project has been an exciting and valuable learning experience, but it also carries with it the realization it's time to move on, Feirson said.

"With the Eagle Scout project I close up my scouting career," he said.

Jake Feirson is accepting books to send to Books For Africa until Sept. 26. Call Feirson at 410-531-9958 and arrange a time for him to pick up your books.

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