After the Mercer Island PTA Council decided to stop selling school supply packages to parents at Islander Middle School several years ago, seventh-grader Kendall Fagan saw an opportunity to fill the void.

Using his business savvy, Fagan, now a freshman at Mercer Island High School, started Help Educ8, a company which sells school supplies to Islanders. And there is a twist. All of the proceeds from Help Educ8 are donated to charity.

“I have always been into business, and I saw a good market there,” Fagan said. Donating the money was a no-brainer as well, he said. The money goes to Rewrite the Future, a charity within the Save the Children organization. Specifically, it helps children living in countries ravaged by wars go to school and receive an education they otherwise would not get.

“I think a lack of education is at the root of a lot of problems. I think helping educate kids will solve a lot of the world’s problems,” he said. Fagan said he chose Rewrite the Future because it fit with his needs and Save the Children “looked like a really good, quality charity.”

Fagan is gearing up for his busy season, summer, when parents start focusing on next fall’s needs. He said that during the first two years, he mostly sold to his friends, but last year he started doing more advertising and saw an uptick in business. In total, he has been able to give $725 to charity, with $475 made in the summer of 2008 alone. His goal this summer is to raise $1,500 for the charity.

The business operates out of Fagan’s Web site, www.helpeduc8.com. Fagan offers a package of all the supplies needed for the various middle school grades, as well as individual items that students may need throughout the year. Usually, once orders in the summer start rolling in, Fagan said he will begin creating the packages and ordering what he needs, but keeps a variety of items on hand for smaller orders.

“My closet is full of supplies,” he said. Another plus for the company, Fagan personally delivers all orders.

“It’s really fun to be able to run a business on my own and donating money feels really good,” said Fagan. “It’s a cool feeling, knowing that I raised the money.”

Right now, the company consists just of Fagan, but if things take off this summer like he hopes, adding another person to the team might be a reality. Someday, he hopes to expand into Bellevue and Seattle.

Fagan said that he has been doing more with advertising this spring, thanks in part to his participation in DECA, a marketing club at the high school. Through the club, Fagan participated in the ad campaign contest, where he used Help Educ8 as the campaign’s business. His work took fourth at the state competition. This week, he is in California at the national DECA competition.

Locally, Fagan said that he has posters up around the high school and middle school, runs ads in the school newspaper and parent newsletters and gives presentations during registration night at the middle school to let parents know about the company.

Besides running Educ8 and going to school, Fagan also participates in tennis and the long-distance track team.