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Letter to the editor

Boy puts in the legwork for a better tomorrow

By Ernest Hooper Lunch with Hooper
Published October 26, 2007

The back of Zach Bonner's Little Red Wagon Foundation T-shirt tells you everything you need to know about his latest charitable effort: Thirteen kids die every day homeless, hungry, alone and scared. Change it.

The Valrico 9-year-old's nonprofit work has made quite a splash in three years, though Zach leads a fairly routine life filled with friends and video games. His latest effort is his most ambitious.

With the backing of the Lazy Days Partners Foundation and other sponsors, Zach will embark on a 230-mile walk from Seffner to Tallahassee on Nov. 4.

He hopes to raise awareness of homeless children while raising more than $250,000 for Stand Up For Kids, a nonprofit group that helps homeless and street kids.

Over cheeseburgers at the Lazy Days Crown Club Restaurant, I talked to Zach and his mother, Laurie, about what motivates him to do so much.

ERNEST: You've had a chance to meet some of the homeless kids you've been able to help in Valrico and at a Stand Up For Kids facility in California. What's that like?

ZACH: It's kind of neat seeing who you helped, but it's sad seeing what they have to go through.

Why is helping homeless kids important to you?

ZACH: I guess because they're kids, but they're homeless. They're normal, but they're just on the street.

How did you come up with the idea for the walk?

ZACH: I found out that Congress was considering a resolution to make November National Youth Homeless Awareness month. I wanted to raise awareness of that.

LAURIE: I think he got the idea of a walk from a program called Peace Pilgrim. She walked to raise awareness of peace. He decided to walk 230 miles to raise awareness of homeless kids.

How much are you going to walk each day?

ZACH: Eleven miles. I'm going to walk 5 miles in the morning and 6 miles in the evening.

LAURIE: In between, he's going to speak to groups of kids. The Florida Homeless Coalition is going to help him get into schools and speak to nonprofit groups along the way.

In 2006, you met President Bush and received a special honor. What was it like to meet the president?

ZACH: He's pretty cool. He just congratulated me and told me to continue my community service.

You also talked to former President Clinton about your walk. What did he tell you?

ZACH: He said I should get all the old people to walk with me to help them get in shape.

Is it your mom's idea for you to have a nonprofit, or is it your idea?

ZACH: It's mine.

LAURIE: Believe me, my life would be a whole lot easier if he wasn't doing it.

I think if you have kids, you realize you couldn't get them to sustain this kind of community effort over a span of three years. I mean, I can't even get my kids to clean their room.

LAURIE: I thought I was the only parent with that problem.

Zach, is your room not clean?

ZACH: It's better than it used to be.

Last year, you sold more than $5,000 worth of popcorn for the Boy Scouts and you were the top seller. What drove you?

ZACH: I like to be the (best) in everything.

How long are you going to keep doing your nonprofit work?

ZACH: I don't know. I guess forever.

DESSERT: A postscript from Ernest

How will the walk work? Zach will walk 11 miles a day in hopes of covering the trek in 23 days. He'll spend each night in a recreational vehicle provided by Lazy Days and driven by his mom.

Zach strikes some as too good to be true, and understandably so. You just don't find that many 9-year-olds who run their own charitable foundation.

Luckily, some of Zach's initial efforts were greeted with enthusiasm instead of cynicism.

He started out collecting water for hurricane victims in 2004 after hearing a plea from some radio hosts.

The foundation blossomed because people appreciated his zeal to make a difference. He has also led a backpack drive for homeless children, staged a holiday party in Louisiana for kids victimized by Hurricane Katrina and worked with Teaching Tools for Hillsborough Schools.

Still, he gets a few doors slammed in his face and some people don't take him seriously. But he's able to handle the rejection because of the first successes, and those who take him seriously are overwhelmed.

What Zach Bonner teaches us is that you're never too young to make a difference.

Ernest Hooper can be reached at hooper@sptimes.com or 226-3406.

[Last modified October 25, 2007, 08:01:41]