Sean Beecroft (Troop 612 in Redmond) carried out his Eagle Scout project on Sept. 11 with the help of about 50 volunteers from Redmond.

Adults, scouts and kids handed out fliers to shoppers at Albertson’s on Redmond-Fall City Rd., Bear Creek Safeway, Bridle Trails Red Apple, Redmond Center QFC, Bella Bottega QFC and Overlake Fred Meyer, asking them to buy at least one thing from a list of items needed by the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle.

“The response was overwhelming. Sean thought he would end up with several boxes of food to donate and instead, he collected over 2,500 lbs. of food in just three hours,” said his mother, Michelle Beecroft of Redmond.

“The people here are amazing. There was one man who pushed a full cart out of a store toward the volunteers, then said, ‘Just let me get my prescription,’ then started walking away. When the volunteers tried to remind him to take his groceries, he said, ‘No, it’s all for you.’ That sort of thing happened more than once. Then there were the people who said they only had a dollar or so who bought a can of food and donated it. And the people who were on their way to the bank, for example, and took a flier and went grocery shopping just for items on the list.”

The food was packed into 72 large boxes and on Monday, Sean and his father took the donations to the Ronald McDonald House.

“Lauren Lane was the House representative with whom Sean had been in contact for the project. She said that this was the largest donation they’ve ever received from an individual and that this would keep their pantries supplied for about two months,” said Michelle.

For information about Seattle’s Ronald McDonald House, visit http://www.rmhcseattle.org.