Xavier Pitman engaged in many scout projects over the years, but never has he taken the lead on a project of this scale.
The 14-year-old home-schooled student has a goal to collect 5,000 sleeping bags for Ukrainians currently taking refuge in Poland due to the ongoing war with Russia.
The initiative is to collect community service volunteer hours for his chief scout project.
“It's just to help them because they have, like, nothing,” said Pitman adding that he feels awful about the current situation of the refugees.
“Everyone is displaced from their homes and they’re losing everything that they have.”
Pitman kicked off the initiative this week and is encouraging community members to bring new or gently-used sleeping bags to Gateway Public School on March 13 between 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. So far, he has collected 10.
His partner in the project is his opa (grandfather in Dutch) in London who is working with the London Ukrainian Heritage Centre. The organization will collect and ship the sleeping bags to Warsaw London directly to the refugees. While his opa is collecting sleeping bags in London, Pitman is collecting sleeping bags in Guelph.
“They don't have anywhere to sleep. They're sleeping on roads and stuff,” said Xavier adding that sleeping bags are more helpful than blankets because they also function as a mat and keep individuals warm.
According to the UN, Poland has welcomed over 1.2 million refugees, higher than any other country in the world. Those fleeing Ukraine were left with little to no belongings travelling in below zero temperatures.
Pitman said he’s accepting financial donations that will be used to buy sleeping bags and is in the process of buying sleeping bags with the donations he already received.
“Everyone has been really nice about it,” said Pitman.
Pitman can be contacted at [email protected]
