WATCH: Ellen Gives Shunned Gay Boy Scout a Big Scholarship

The Boy Scout who was refused his Eagle Medal because he came out as gay got some good news about his future during an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show.

“I cannot give you the pin,” DeGeneres told him Thursday. “But what I can do, I know you want to go to college… so Shutterfly is giving you a check for $20,000.”

Ryan Andresen is 17 and had been part of the Boy Scouts since age 6. In an online petition calling for the group to give her son the medal he earned, Andresen's mother has so far garnered about 400,000 signatures.

Eagle Scouts from around the country have sent him their own medals as a sign of support, with 170 medals on the way so far, he said. One Florida dentist named Andrew Zerbinopolous sent his, saying, “If I can make him feel like he has some support out there, it’s worth it to me to send him a piece of metal.”

http://www.advocate.com/youth/2012/10/12/watch-ellen-gives-shunned-gay-boy-scout-big-scholarship

The video at the link & this story actually brought tears to my eyes. Very emotional on so many levels.