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Boy Plans 23-Day Trek For Homeless

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By KEITH MORELLI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 18, 2007

VALRICO - Zach Bonner is planning a special 10th birthday, but he won't be munching cake and ice cream or ripping into presents.

He'll be walking to Tallahassee - a 23-day trip, according to his arithmetic, which he's making to help the country's 13 million homeless children.

'I've got new Air Pegasuses,' Zach said.

He's hoping to get people to walk with him to raise money for the Stand Up For Kids charity.

'I kind of based it on the Peace Pilgrim,' he said. 'She walked 25,000 miles to make peace, and so I thought I could walk 250 miles for the homeless.'

Last year, he saw a documentary on the Peace Pilgrim, a woman who made the trek for peace.

'So, the real question is how can I not walk if it will make a difference even to just one of those kids,' Zach says on his Web site, home page for the Little Red Wagon Foundation, which he founded two years ago.

Since then, he has met celebrities and dignitaries, including President Bush, and stockpiled awards.

The third-grader's sophisticated Web site outlines his accomplishments and goals. There are tabs and links to tell viewers things such as his schedule, how to donate and how to register to walk with him.

The 250-mile trip to Tallahassee will take three weeks, with legs of more than 10 miles a day. Zach begins the journey Nov. 3, at the Lazydays RV lot. Lazydays is one of his sponsors.

'I think it's pretty ambitious,' said Zach's mom, Laurie. 'He kind of threw it out there. I wasn't really ready for it.'
Cracker Barrel restaurants are donating 50 meals for Zach, his mom, and volunteers along the way. Anyone else who wants to make donations can log on to the foundation's Web site, www.littleredwagon foundation.com.

'When I started, I kind of wanted to raise $250,000, but I don't think I'll reach that,' he said. 'I'll take whatever I can get.'

The Little Red Wagon Foundation Web site has a 'Where Is Zach' update on his progress for when the trip begins. For now, it says where he expects to be on each day. He's hoping to fit in talks to charity groups along the way and do a little homework, Laurie Bonner said.

Because Zach attends the Florida Virtual Academy, the trip won't pose an attendance problem, she said. He is already months ahead in his studies. 'He's been doing school work six and seven days a week' to get ahead, she said. He also has time set aside for schoolwork along the way.

He was 6 when he began his charity work. That's when, after Hurricane Charley, he handed out fliers soliciting donations and ended up with a garage full of bottled water, food and baby supplies, all collected from his Lithia Ridge neighbors.

Last year, he organized a Christmas party for young victims of Hurricane Katrina living in a trailer park in Louisiana. His pleas for donations met with success, both on the national and local level, and he received enough offerings to give Christmas presents to 750 children.

He won't be alone on his Tallahassee walk, his mom said. Volunteers will accompany him, at least two at a time, and she said, 'I'll be walking with him probably for all of it.'

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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