Hello,

My name is Colt Kondo. I am an aspiring Eagle Scout from Troop 142. I am currently a Life Scout looking to complete my Eagle Scout Project. When deciding on a project, I wanted to do something different. All Eagle Scout Projects benefit to the community in their own unique way. The most common is a building project. This consists of working with a local school, church, or organization to build something that could benefit them. While I considered this at first, I recognized a bigger and better opportunity for a project.

When I heard that I could do a project through Gift of Life, I knew I had to do it. The opportunity to save lives is one that not many people get. I learned about Bone Marrow Registries through my mother, who signed up about 20 years back. She sent in a swab not knowing if she'd ever be a match. But in April 2010, she found out she was a perfect match for a man with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma; a man she had never met before. She donated stem cells that were later transplanted into the man with cancer. She remembers it as a very painless and simple process. We later learned that the donation had saved his life. Without the donation, he wouldn't have been able to see his two daughters go to college. Nine years post-transplant he is still healthy and cancer free. Not only did she save his life, but they became very good friends after. 

Throughout my project, I will be hosting drives in the Tampa Bay Area in the hope of helping patients find their perfect match. She saved a life, and so can you. A simple swab and you can change your life while saving someone else's at the same time.

Please join my Donor Circle and become a member of the Gift of Life bone marrow registry. You must be between the ages of 18-44 to join the registry. However, if you don't meet that criteria, please consider making a monetary donation to Gift of LIfe through the "Give to My Circle" tab. This registry provides children and adults who are sick with leukemia or lymphoma a chance to recover. You could save a life!

Not only are you joining the registry, but you are helping out a local kid acheive his dream of becoming an Eagle Scout.

Thank you so much,

Colt Kondo
Troop 142
Coltkondo@hotmail.com