Collecting bottle caps helped Logan Miller stay focused while his Marine dad was deployed in Afghanistan. And once his father came home, the 10-year-old Kaneohe boy found his hobby gave him a sense of purpose.

Logan began collecting the metal caps a few months before his father, Gunnery Sgt. Jeremy Miller, shipped out. His mother, Ginny Miller, an administrative assistant at St. John Lutheran Church, says Logan’s collecting became a coping mechanism in his dad’s absence. The youth would search for bottle caps at the beach and parks, he would ask servers at restaurants for them and solicit help from others in adding to his collection.

"He started picking them up on our interisland trip right before Jeremy deployed and he collected them the whole time he was gone," she said.

Before long, Logan had 20 buckets full of soda and beer caps.

When his dad returned from his tour of duty about three years ago, the Millers discussed what they should do with all of the caps. Logan told his parents he wanted to use them to help people.

"I couldn’t believe that Logan wanted to use them to help sick people," said Jeremy Miller. "He was only 7 years old and already had philanthropy ideas."

Turning the caps in for recycling would bring just pennies, so the family began making and selling bottle-cap jewelry, knickknacks and artwork, with the proceeds — minus expenses — going to the American Diabetes Association.

So far the Millers have raised nearly $10,000.

Logan, a fifth-grader at Mokapu Elementary School, says he had a specific reason for wanting to help people with diabetes.

"My granny has diabetes, and that’s why I picked them," he said.

The Hawaii family’s fundraising efforts landed them a $1,000 prize in a volunteerism contest sponsored by FamilyFun magazine and a mention in the June/July issue.

They continue to make bottle-cap windchimes, earrings, mirror frames and other items, and fill custom orders received through Facebook or word of mouth.

Painted caps have been used to make sport team logos, intricate military insignia, a honu mosaic and table tops. The jewelry pieces range in price from $8 to $35 and artwork from $50 to $250.

The Millers sort the cap by color and style, depending on the project.

"We’ve had to drink some really bad beer to get certain-colored caps," said Jeremy Miller.

But Logan no longer needs to search for bottle caps. There is a collection bin on the front porch and strangers have been mailing them boxes of bottle caps since reading about the family in FamilyFun.

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Bottlecaps can be sent to the Millers at 1934 Parks Ave., Kailua, HI 96734.