CHARLOTTE ó An 11-year-old Florida boy walking to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about homelessness will make a stop in Charlotte on Wednesday.
Zach Bonner, recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award and other national and local honors, will be joined by local homeless service providers and NeXus Urban Serve at the Salvation Army Center of Hope, 534 Pratt St.
They will raise money and awareness for homeless children as he stops on the fourth leg of his “My house to the White House” walk.
All proceeds raised at the event for the Back Zach’s Backpack fund will be donated to homeless Charlotte-Mecklenburg students in need of back-to-school supplies.
Zach started his effort in November 2007, walking from Tampa to Tallahassee in Florida. Last fall he walked from Tallahassee to Atlanta.
This summer, he will complete the last leg of the 1,225-mile journey, walking 668 miles from Atlanta to Washington, where he hopes to meet with President Obama and other national leaders.
Profiled on “Good Morning America,” Zach is the inspiration for a feature film being developed by the Philanthropy Project (www.GiveAndGlow.com).
The Little Red Wagon Foundation (www.LittleRedWagonFoundation.com) is the Tampa-based nonprofit Zach established in 2005, at age 7, to help distressed children in the wake of Hurricane Charley. It is now the vehicle for all his work to help others.
After the Charlotte event, Zach will continue north through Cabarrus County on N.C. 49 and is scheduled to pass just east of Misenheimer in Stanley County on Saturday.