Most high school kids aren’t preoccupied with the state of education resources in a foreign country. But that doesn’t go for 16-year-old Jason McRuer.

The Mercer Island High School junior recently spearheaded a project to collect gently used and left-over school supplies and send them to students in Sierra Leone. McRuer launched his venture in February on Kickstarter, a popular website that allows enterprisers to utilize crowd-funding to help advance their projects.

McRuer needed to raise $750 to pay for shipping the supplies overseas by his deadline of April 1, but has since surpassed his goal and received $836 in contributions.

In addition to sending school materials to struggling students in ‘Salone,’ part of McRuer’s plan involves putting together a calendar comprised of artwork made by the Sierra Leonean students receiving the supplies. He will send these calendars to the backers who helped support his cause, as well thank you letters and some ‘amazing Karma.’

Though McRuer has a contact in Sierra Leone to assist him with the overseas distribution of supplies, he has consistently worked throughout the previous school year to raise awareness about his project—sending out fliers to Mercer Island elementary school teachers and parents, and creating a Facebook and Kickstarter pages, encouraging involvement from individuals outside of the Mercer Island community.

When asked what drove him to embark on this endeavor, McRuer says that he simply ‘saw that there were a lot of supplies that were being wasted, and there was a lot that was needed over there. It seemed like a pretty easy trade.’

Explaining on his Kickstarter page the negative ramifications of the ten-year civil war in Sierra Leone for the local youths,  McRuer says, ‘I want to help because there are kids out there that are so eager to learn, and are only weighed down by what is lacking in their resources, and not in their motivation.’

McRuer explains his venture was in part inspired by fellow MIHS student Kendall Fagan’s altruistic endeavor, Help Educ8, which sold school supplies to Mercer Islanders and donated the proceeds to charity. ‘I really looked to him and that project,’ McRuer says.

Juggling the project with his participation in cross country, band, drama and the VOICE program (Volunteer Outreach in Communities Everywhere), it’s an understatement to say that McRuer is a busy 16-year-old.

When prompted about any future involvement in philanthropy, McRuer predicts that he will not only continue his project, but further his connection to Sierra Leone with a trip to the area in coming years. ‘It’s hard not seeing the kids receiving the supplies at the other end, but I’ve definitely gotten a lot out of it.’