The Boy Scouts of America slogan is to "do a good deed daily."
This week's Everyday Hero, however, performed a good deed that was months in the making.
A truck and trailer are jammed with boxes ready to be unloaded. It's a job the residents at The Russell Home for Atypical Children were thrilled to do. And in the middle of them all, there was a not-so-typical teenager.
"I read about them online and they seemed like a great organization," A.J. Ortiz said. "I really wanted to help them. They broke my heart on how they helped so many kids over the years."
Ortiz still bears the scars from a dog attack he suffered when he was 9 years old. He hasn't forgotten how others helped him cope while he was recovering in the hospital. That memory drove Ortiz's project into a mission.
"We have white wash cloths, girls body wash, boys body wash, mouthwash, trash bags," Ortiz said.
Not just trash bags, though. Four years' worth of bags actually — which is more than 20,000.
There are about 30 kids of all ages at the Orlando-based Russell Home, which is a nonprofit institution for brain-damaged children. According to its website, it's the first such home in the United States.
Some Russell Home residents have been there for decades.
"We actually need socks," said Steve Brock, of the Russell Home. "We need soap, we need paper plates. Those things we need every day and people don't realize that if we don't have them, we have to go out and buy them."
The Russell Home runs completely on donations.
Ortiz only asked for donations of goods, but people dug into their pockets to help, too. He was able to present the Russell Home with a $3,000 check.
It was the reactions from the Russell Home residents that left Ortiz nearly in tears.
"I thought I was going to cry tears of joy," he said. "No one has ever done anything like this for me, and I just felt so happy to receive all this appreciation. And I was very appreciated to be able to help them."