Zachary Bonner, 11, of Tampa, Fla., founded the Little Red Wagon Foundation in 2005 to help underprivileged children and raise awareness about youth homelessness.
Zach began a three-part journey to Washington in 2007, walking 275 miles from Tampa to Tallahassee, Fla., and then 270 miles from Tallahassee to Atlanta in 2008. The last leg of his “My House to the White House” journey began May 11 in Atlanta. Zach will walk more than 660 miles to reach Washington. His goal is to arrive at the White House on July 9.
He is collecting letters to deliver to the White House and is encouraging people to speak out about youth homelessness. He also is accepting donations for the homeless and raising funds along the way. His goal in walking 1,225 miles is to create “education and awareness” of the youth homelessness problem in the United States.
Zach is expected to cross the North Carolina border into Virginia on Sunday. He has scheduled a June 29 press conference in Richmond.
President George W. Bush awarded Zach the Presidential Call to Service Award in 2006.
A dedicated Tweeter, he updates his Twitter account from the road to tell fans about people he meets, his location and other community-service projects he completes along his route. He walks rain or shine, as much as 11 to 12 miles per day. Thanks to Zach’s GPS device, fans can track and find his exact location on any computer at his main walk site, https://zachtracker.com/.
Next week: A question-and-answer with Michael J. Guillen, chairman and president of the Philanthropy Project, which is producing a family film about Zach’s zeal.
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