LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Oscar Morris said he's been making art out of wood since he was a child. He said back in September he ran across a strong broken tree limb and decided to make a cane.
Being a Navy veteran himself and coming from a long line of veterans, he knew others could use the walking support. He took the prop to the VA hospital and people loved it.
"I put it out there: If there's a veteran that needs a cane, we'll make you a cane," Morris said.
He posted the unique walking canes on his Facebook page and in just a couple of days, it blew up with hundreds of orders.
"The cane idea was because what better way give the king a staff and make him feel like he's royalty? So from a brother veteran to a sister and brother veteran, I give them a staff," said Morris.
Since then, Morris has recruited four of his friends to help him make the canes. Each one is completely different, filling the need of the specific veteran and branding them with a penny of the year the veteran enlisted in the military.
When Lowe's Home Improvement in Mount Dora heard what they were doing, they donated hundreds of Christmas trees to help.
"We got a 188 Christmas trees out there that are going to go to a veteran and make them feel totally wonderful," Morris said. "In return, I feel wonderful also."
Morris told News 6 the Christmas trees would have gone to the landfill, but now they'll be able to hold up those who served proudly for our country.
"The 'God blesses' and the 'thank yous' that I'm getting, I don't think I deserve all that, but it's what drives me," said Morris.
He said he's already sent out about 200 finished walking canes and has 300 left to go.
For more information, visit Morris' Facebook page. A GoFundMe account was also set up for Free Canes For Vets.