Final Thoughts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The size and magnitude of the Krasnoyarsk Playground Project can appear overwhelming, especially when you consider the numbers:

By the numbers:

634 people who contributed time, expertise, material or money  (106 from Russia)

78     cities where help came from

23 states where help came from

5 countries where help came from

$62,856 dollars raised of which  $14,297 donated for:

-          Continued maintenance of the playground-  $5,000.00

-          Construction of a 2^nd playground at tuberculosis hospital – $5,000.00

-          Construction of a 3rd playground at hospital for mentally ill – $4,297.00

838 hours spent by Alex

1,867 known hours spent by other volunteers (actual number probably close to double)

2,705 total known hours

524  work days spent by Alex

1449 Emails written

11,065 miles totem poles traveled

6,664 miles travel crew traveled

6,584 candy bars sold by 69 individuals or companies

1,474,816 calories consumed from candy bars sold

650 lbs of pit beef sold

90 lbs of ham sold

50 lbs of turkey sold

1,200 sandwiches sold

13 different crews worked to accomplish goal (not including work in Russia)

9 presentations given by Alex to promote the project

900,000 population of Krasnoyarsk

435 children in Children’s Hospital #20

16^th birthday celebrated by Alex at in birth home

6 people who traveled to Russia

$12,000 in private money spent to travel to Russia to install the playground

41 scouts from Troop 809 who helped

32 scouters from Troop 809 who helped

5 Rotary clubs that participated

2 Rotary districts that participated

6,587 lbs – Weight of everything shipped to Russia

72 cubic meters of sand installed

6 cubic meters of concrete installed

3,004 number of playground parts that had to be assembled

54 (and counting) Newspaper, magazine or internet articles or TV stories reaching over 120 million households that received positive message of scouting, Rotary and  adoption

 

These numbers are only numbers. Sure, just looking at them can be staggering but there is a huge lesson in these numbers – that is that anything, no matter how big or complicated can be accomplished by developing a plan and following through in a very consistent and methodical process of tackling one task at a time, and when complete moving on to the next task and not quitting or giving up until you do reach your goal. The only way this project got done is by Alex, from age 14 to 16 giving up 838 hours of his time on 524 days to work on his project to build a playground for the children of Krasnoyarsk. That is a huge commitment and sacrifice – think of all the TV shows that were missed, video games not played, bike jumps not attempted, movies not watched, DS games not played. It was a lot and a big sacrifice for Alex and only once did he say “I want to quit”. Many, many times he did not feel like doing the work, and he had to be pushed and prodded a lot, but at the end of the day he GOT THE JOB DONE!!!! Way to go Alex!!!!

 

Alex worked hard and long hours, but none of this would be possible without the effort of so many other people. As the numbers show, Alex had help from 634 people around the world. Some lent advice, some helped with fundraising, some donated materials or money and many went way beyond the call of duty and contributed countless hours to the cause, most of which were unrecorded hours of their own time or services their businesses provided to Alex. While we thank all those involved special thanks must go out to these people or companies whose tireless efforts  and expertise were critical to the project’s success:

 

Tatiana Khegay and all the members of the Krasnoyarsk-Yenisei Rotary Club.  Tatiana replied to Alex in August 2007 saying “she would be happy to help him in realization of his kind idea”. And help him she did. For two years Tatiana was Alex’s eyes and ears on the ground in Krasnoyarsk. She coordinated everything with the hospital and city government prior to our arrival, she arranged for the storage of the playground, she marshaled the forces of her Krasnoyarsk-Yenisei rotary club members who provided housing and transportation for the travel crew, dealt with everything we needed during installation and the many changes that occurred, gave the travel crew an experience that will never be forgotten of living life as a Russian and not a tourist and most important bestowed her love and friendship on us.

 

Linda Perilstein of the Cradle of Hope Adoption Center. It was a Cradle of Hope waiting children flyer that Dwight and Jenny first saw Alex’s pictures – without Cradle of Hope, Alex may very well still be in an orphanage. When Alex contacted Mrs. Perilstein for help, she directed to him to FRUA and OrphanAct which led to the contact with Tatiana and it was Mrs. Perilstein who suggested a new playground instead of repairing the existing playground.

 

Jay Van Duesen & Mark Welsh of the Bel Air Rotary Club and Neil Young of the Towsontowne Rotary Club. Jay and Mark pushed for approval of the Bel Air Rotary being the lead sponsor club and served as a vehicle for receipt of all donations for the project. Neal provided great help in securing the matching grant from the Rotary Foundation.

 

David Rice of Dartrans, Inc. David spent 5 months working out the logistics of shipping the playground, totem poles and other materials to Russia and provided the services of his company at no charge. He even helped to load the container. Without David Rice, the playground would still be sitting in Jarrettsville.

 

Tim Herculson, Ted Cheffy and Darrell Bennett from Boy Scout Troop 809. Mr Tim was Alex’s mentor guiding him through the very long process of project approval, rejection, re-approval and execution. Mr. Ted was the 1^st to stand up at the troop committee meeting and say “I’m in” and then devoted countless hours to arrange the donation of the totem pole logs and shipping them from Canada to Jarrettsville and the fumigation of the totem poles and other wood products. Mr. Darrell whose help with the pit beef fundraisers helped to raise the money needed. In all 41 scouts and 32 scouters from Troop 809 helped, there just is not enough space to thank everyone individually.

 

Julie Guinn-Bailey and Jason Lott of the Playworld Systems Inc. We had to change manufacturers of the playground half way through, and Julie worked tirelessly and forever to help with design, redesign, provided discounted pricing and then held the price through two company price increases and recorded hundreds of phone calls and emails working out the project details with Alex. Jason’s expertise in installation provided the crew with critical knowledge that enabled them to get the playground installed properly and professionally with 4 teenagers and a crew of non English speaking kids half way around the world.

 

Randi Boni and Rick Pratt. These chainsaw artist put their heart and soul into the design and crafting of the beautiful totem pole entry benches. Randi traveled from Tennessee and Rick from New York to converge in Maryland to carve the totem poles.

 

Rick Edie of Kefauver Lumber. Kefauver Lumber became the USA home of the Krasnoyarsk Playground Project. Five pit beef fundraisers were held there, the totem poles were carved there and then displayed for 7 months in the store, the shipping and crating process took place there and then in April, we took over a large area of the parking lot to receive the playground and do the quality check and pre-assembly. Without Mr. Rick allowing us to use Kefauver Lumbers facilities, executing these important task would be near impossible.

 

Christian Posko, Shane Rymer and Dave and Zach Kraft of the travel crew. Along with my dad, these 4 guys did everything with Alex. Christian led the marketing, purchasing and safety and security crews. Zack led the installation instruction and procedure crew. Shane gave up his last couple of weeks of fun to travel to Russia with us – 10 days after returning from Russia, Shane shipped off to Paris Island to begin serving our country as a United States Marine. Mr. Dave is the best Scoutmaster ever, taking a month off work and traveling half way around the world to help one of his scouts – he made a promise to Alex and he kept it.  All of them traveled to Pennsylvania to tour the Playworld factory and get installation tips, spent 8 days in April doing the quality check and preassemble and then spent over $2,000 of their own money to travel half way around the world to help install the playground. Alex may have been the TV star, but these guys were the real stars of the Krasnoyarsk Playground Project.

 

Personal thoughts from the travel crew: Here are the personal thoughts from the crew:

 

Zach Kraft: Most of my feelings I can not put into words, but I have a few I can. First, to be in another country with five other great people was just awesome . Also, to see how we all dealt with and handled all the hard times and changes- nothing, nothing could have prepared us for that. But that’s what boy scouts do to us, they make us prepared to handle and deal with any situation that is thrown at us. Another feeling is to see all the other playgrounds around the city in very poor conditions, and then have us come in and build a miracle (as all Russians put it) and be the first to do it, is something great beyond belief. Lastly, to see the smiles, hear the laughter, and just feel the all around happy atmosphere was but far the best thing that has happened in my life, no doubt. I thank everyone that supported this project and I thank Alex to give me and my father the chance to travel half a world away to do something many people would have seen as impossible!!!!!! 

 

Dave Kraft: It is hard for me to write my final thoughts on this project.  Yes as a Scoutmaster you try to work on every Eagle project that your Troop has.  My first Eagle project that I worked on was in 1984, it was my future brother-in-law at the time.  Since then I have worked on approximately 17 more projects.  I am always proud of all of my Scouts and the work that they accomplish.  The pride that I feel for Alex and the sense of accomplishment that I have with this project cannot be easily written in words.  Alex acted as I thought he would in Krasnoyarsk , but we have to remember that this is Alex.  I would not have wanted him any other way.  Traveling and finishing the project with 5 of my closest friends was a feat that will not be equaled again in my life. Zach, Shane and Posko have participated in high adventure with me and I share a feeling with them like no other Scout and now Alex fits into that category.  You have to admit that these young Scouts really and truly did a MAN’S job while we were in Russia, and I am very PROUD of them. I am very proud to be associated with Alex and this project.  The families in Russia have changed my feelings on foreign people and have left a mark on my life that cannot be erased.  It was a very emotional trip for me.  The children that watched us work, that tried to help and especially those that I watched play on the completed playground have burned a place in my heart and will truly never be forgotten.  I will close with this thought:  Zach received an e-mail from Zhenya (one of the twins) , she , Misha and Sasha went to check on the playground the other day……..even though it was raining that day there was still plenty of children on the playground, laughing and enjoying (our) Alex’s project.  Now we know that its use is exactly what we had hoped it would be.  God Bless Russia.  God Bless America.  God Bless Boy Scouts. AND God Bless our Travel Crew!!!!!!!!!

 

Dwight and Alex

Thanks for the opportunity to travel with you and to work on this project.  It is something that will never be forgotten.  You are very special people and you will always have a special place in my heart.

 

Sincerely,

Dave Kraft

Scoutmaster

Troop 809

 

 

Christian Posko: What can be said about this project? Fantastic, miraculous, and incredible are a few of the words that could be chosen as adjectives to describe one of the most inspirational projects that have been seen through in these past years.

 

I can remember when Alex first dreamt up this idea of his, to build a playground in his birth home. Many people were skeptical as to whether a young man could ever pull off a project of such caliber. Many of these same people thought it was a child’s fantasy that would end in the pre-planning stages. They were sorely mistaken. Alex has surpassed all expectations, taken down every opponent and overcome all obstacles this project has thrown his way. He is one of the most energetic, promising, and spectacular young men I have ever met.

 

This project is not just one of a young man giving back to his homeland, but one of international strengthening and stereotype breaking. I can remember one of the people I stayed with asked me what my thoughts were of Russia before I had visited. I had told them that our government feared us into the mindset of Russia being the “evil empire,” as Ronald Reagan had called it during his presidency. He asked me if my opinion had differed since my arrival in the country. I responded by telling him that his people are more generous and more friendly to foreigners than some Americans are to each other, let alone people who are the least bit different from them. I challenge every American to break my assumption of my fellow countrymen, just like the Russians showed me I was wrong about them.

 

The project exposed me to so many new people and things, that if I were to make a list of the things I experienced, I would need a Bible-sized book to write them down in. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to take part in a project that connects and betters the lives of so many people. Thank you, Alex, for letting me help you make the world a better place.

 

But someone else deserves a thanks, equal if not more than Alex: Mr. Dwight. If Mr. Dwight hadn’t adopted Alex 15 years ago, none of us would be connected in the same way at all. His guidance to Alex has been vital in keeping the project going from start to finish. In my eyes, Mr. Dwight is one of the single finest men I have ever had the privledge of meeting in my life. My hat is off to him, he deserves it.

 

That is all.

 

Shane Rymer: Shane is now about 3 weeks into boot camp at Paris Island as a future United States Marine and is not available to submit his personal thoughts. When he does, we will post it right away. We can tell you that Shane had a great experience while in Russia and his enthusiasm, spirit and hard work will always be remembered. Be safe our friend and GOD Bless you!

Dwight and Alex: Every word posted on these final thoughts(and the entire website) are a compilation of the personal thoughts and experiences of a father and son working together for 2 ½ years to bring a playground to Children’s Hospital #20 and return Alex to his roots. We hope you have enjoyed sharing this very moving and personal experience with us as much as we have enjoyed sharing it with the world.

 

Overcoming obstacles

There were a 1000 reasons why Alex should not have been successful. First he had to convince the scout leaders that he could do this project. He spent six months and over 200 hours in research and planning, just to ask for approval – that is more time and effort than most scouts spend for their entire project. But Alex was PREPARED and when the time came, he was ready and was able to convince the scout leaders that even though this was a huge undertaking, it could be accomplished. After initial approval Alex had to fight continued resistance from some scout leaders at the district and council level. While he did not understand the reason they were fighting him, he did not let their resistance stop him.

 

Then he had to get approval from the Rotary organization who all enthusiastically supported the project and worked hard to make it possible. After that he had to start the seemingly impossible task of fundraising – which started slow. Every pit beef fundraiser was hit with heavy rain, severe winds or freezing cold, but Alex kept at it. The car show was rained out. He never did the hot chocolate sales because the weather was too hot in October and there were no games in November. Candy sales went fine and were steady though out. Donations seemed to come into the Rotary club from everywhere and 5 clubs and two districts kicked in money combined with the Rotary matching grant, the Rotary organization contributed over $26,000. Alex surpassed his fundraising goal two days before he was to receive the playground. While attending an annual Easter celebration at the Russian Embassy for children adopted form Russia, a family who had two adopted children donated $5,000 which took Alex over his goal of $60,000. Along the way Alex received donations from children who were giving their allowances and birthday money and the entire student body of the Highland School, a school for children with learning disabilities that Alex attended many years ago contributed with a can drive and pennies for the playground.

 

There were delays in ordering the playground waiting for the matching grant to be processed – the playground got ordered on the last possible day to meet the shipping schedule, causing everyone to panic.

 

During pre-assembly heavy winds blew daily sometimes lifting the tarp 1 ½ feet off the ground and made the quality check and pre-assembly near impossible. It took forever to work out the shipping logistics and the container was even seized for 3 days by Russian customs, before eventually being released. There were all kinds of problems with installation in Russia – not having the bobcat and auger when we needed it, not having the digging tools, problems with the borders and sand, but we worked through it all. Just as Alex overcame one obstacle another one cropped up, but he worked though them all.

 

Sometimes it seems like this project was just meant to be, like it was blessed from the good Lord above. You can call it karma or the stars aligned just at the right time, but every time Alex was hitting a wall and needed a break to keep the project moving forward, he got one, just in the nick of time. It was just meant to be. There was too much good to come from all the efforts for anything to stop the success of the Krasnoyarsk Playground Project.

 

Russia then – Russia now

Fifteen years ago when we traveled to Russia to adopt Alex, it was just two years after the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia was experiencing its worst economic times in modern history. The ruble was basically worthless – I think a dollar was equal to about 4000 rubles at the time. Visiting Russia was like stepping back in time 50 years. The infrastructure – roads, buildings etc were in a state of major deterioration. There were no modern stores or businesses and the stores that were open had nothing on their shelves. Streets would flood with every rain – there were no storm drain system, pollution was horrible and there were no gas stations – tankers pulled over along the side of the road.

 

Today, Russia is a new country. Everywhere we went, with two exceptions, has seen major improvement. Krasnoyarsk has an entire new district of the city that has been built with tall apartment buildings and modern shopping malls. The downtown area has been greatly improved with walking bridges and fancy tourist attractions along the river. There are new buildings everywhere and hundreds under construction. The roads are still rough, the streets still flood, but there are gas stations everywhere. The same was true for Moscow. The quality of life that Russians experience today is far greater than that of 15 years ago.

 

This being said, it was sad to see that the two places that had not changes and in fact were in worst condition was Children’s Hospital # 20 and the residential apartment complex where we stayed 15 years ago. Both were in a very run down condition. We even found the playground where the totem pole idea came from and it was all grown over and the totems poles had severely rotten. Just like in America, Russia has areas where life is better and areas where it is not so good. We hope, we know that those areas in both countries, can be improved on. It’s just going to take some people like Alex, who care enough to do something about it.

 

The Russian people

Fifteen years ago, when they were experiencing the worst of times, the Russian people we came in contact with were incredibly nice, kind and caring. Everyone we met did everything they could to take care of us while we were there. They were good people.

 

Now that things have changed, it’s nice to know that the people have not. Every single Russian we met  went way out of their way to care for us, to help us, to do anything they could to see to the successful completion of the construction of the playground and to make sure we experienced life as a Russian, not a tourist. Their kind actions and words made this project possible and very enjoyable. We became part of their families and have made friends for life. They worked hard and entertained us well.

 

The outpouring of love from everyone who visited the playground site was something not expected and touched us deeply. We will never forget them.

 

The only thorn

It was our hope in the back of our minds, that maybe Alex would be able to find and meet his birth parents. We had their names and addresses from 15 years ago. For over 6 months, people in Russia have been trying to help us find them, and when we arrived, several TV stations and people from the hospital joined the search. We did find out additional information about them, but Alex was not able to meet them. He must have made 200 wishes for the reunion while we were there. Every fountain, everywhere we were told Russian made wishes, Alex made one too. He never said what he was wishing for but we knew. Maybe , just maybe they saw Alex on TV and are proud of their son. Maybe, they saw him and the pain was too much to bear to meet with him. We will never know.

 

How do you top this achievement?

This question has been asked a lot. The answer is you don’t. This was never about being the biggest or greatest Eagle project. It is not a competition between others, between siblings, between Alex and his future accomplishments. All this ever was, was Alex choosing to do something for his birth home, to build a playground for kids. He never wanted and really does not enjoy all the media attention. This was a once in a lifetime special project unique to Alex. He is fortunate enough to be able to call two countries his home. This was a project in a point and time when the star aligned, everything fell into place to make this project possible. Alex is glad it’s over, he has worked hard and wants to do some kid stuff again, but he will never forget the last 2 ½ years and especially the 2 ½ weeks in Russia.

 

Alex has left a permanent mark on the earth and on the people of the world. For the next 30 plus years, there will be a safe fun place for children to play that did not exist prior to Alex’s project. With the help of his fundraising efforts, 2 more playgrounds are being built in Krasnoyarsk. More importantly Alex has inspired others to do similar projects. Other adopted children have written him because they now want to do something for their birth homes and playground projects are being planned in the Ukraine as a direct result of people learning what is possible, what can be accomplished. The greatest legacy to Alex’s Krasnoyarsk Playground Project has been the effect it had on the people who participated. What governments and propaganda cannot do, Alex did – join the people of two nations together in peace and friendship that did not exist prior to his Krasnoyarsk Playground Project.

 

God bless the people of Russia.

God bless the people of America.

God bless you Alex and thank you – the world is a better place today because of you!

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!