A Simple Mission
March 27, 2021. John Callanan, a Boy Scout looking to turn Eagle Scout set out on a mission: Collect 100,000 trading cards to donate to charity. Little did he know, that it would become much larger than that. John had started this project with a simple post in a Magic Players Facebook Group:
Over the course of the next few weeks, with the help of volunteers and family, he would very quickly reach 75,000 cards to process and package for his charity of choice, Commons4Kids, a group that donates unused trading cards of all varieties to less fortunate children. He posted flyers in his local game stores, and even had an article written about his project. By the end of April, John blew past his initial goal and was closing in on 300,000 cards. His sights were now set on a new goal, of 500,000 cards donated by the end of May. As May progressed, he would gain more and more donations closing in on 400,000 cards, and just yesterday, John posted an update to the finale of this project.
“IT’S OVER! In the last 2 months, for my Eagle Scout Project, I’ve been taking donations of trading cards to give to Commons4Kids, an organization that gets unused cards into the hands of less fortunate kids. At the start of it all, I made the goal of collecting 100 thousand cards to donate and eventually changed that goal to 500k, but now at the end of my project, I’ve received, sorted, packaged, and shipped approximately 628 THOUSAND trading cards to Commons4Kids! Not only did we send all of those cards, but also 5 boxes full of sleeves and other gaming supplies! It wouldn’t have been possible without all of you who donated cards and encouraged me throughout the whole project, so thank you all so so much! Another big thanks to Magic Untapped who wrote an article about what I was doing, and also to all of the LGSs that let me put my flyers in their stores! I also couldn’t have done all of this without my scout volunteers and family who helped me sort and do anything that needed to get done.”
John Callanan 6/3/2021
An incredible feat for an amazing cause! With over 600,000 cards, the goal was reached and surpassed, and now those cards will get into the hands of children who want them! Congrats to John on the amazing success of this project!
Commons4Kids is a charity based in Lawrenceburg, KY that collects unused trading cards to donate to less fortunate. Founded in 2011, they have donated over 14.5 million cards to date, have received donations from 45 different states, Washington DC, Canada, Japan, China, Australia, United Kingdom and Italy. They’ve even worked with former professional athletes and various other charities as well. You can learn more about them on their Facebook Page.
