|
|
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
|
|
They're walking the walk Walters, children to trek length of state for a cause Senior Reporter Twenty-seven miles per day. About 2.5 miles per hour. Ten hours of walking per day for 17 days.
That is what Gary Walters, Crow Wing County commissioner and Kinship Partners advocate, is planning as he walks the length of the state. The effort -- Marching Minnesota for Mentors -- is aimed at creating awareness of Kinship Partners statewide and raising money and mentors for Kinship Partners in Crow Wing County. The goal is to raise $27,000 and 27 new mentors for Kinship Partners locally.
Kinship Partners is a nonprofit organization serving families in the Brainerd lakes area by providing positive role models to at-risk youth. Adult mentors are asked to commit to spend a few hours each week with the child.
This year Walters, 39, will be joined on his fund-raising effort by his four children. The children said they came up with the idea to join the walk. Although they thought the idea may be a little out there.
"It's just walking," Walters said. "How hard can that be."
But he is already thinking about taping his feet and what his lower back may say about the effort. There has not been a lot of training for the event thus far. He did walk 6.2 miles in one session a couple of years ago. His children seem to be convinced of the merits of the cause more than the idea of walking the equivalent of a marathon for more than two weeks straight.
"It's crazy," Reggie Walters said. The 15-year-old said the deal was sweetened by the promise of a new pair of shoes for the trek. He said the best thing besides the charity portion is completing the challenge of the walk itself. Reggie will be joined by Cassie, 13, Jackson, 11, and Jessica, 10. To give the children perspective Walters told them it was like walking from their Baxter home to Cub Foods -- about 210 times.
They plan to set out at 7 a.m. June 3 from the Northland Arboretum along the Paul Bunyan Trail. The first day they plan to walk 27 miles, stopping two miles south of Fifty Lakes. Those 27-mile treks are expected most days until the group, followed by a recreational vehicle, reaches International Falls on June 9.
Previous efforts
This year's effort to walk the length of the state in 17 days is Gary Walters third fund-raising event for Kinship Partners.
In 2004, Perching for Partners raised $15,134.54 and signed up 40 new mentors.
In 2003, Miles for Mentoring raised $10,557.75.
|
The next day they plan to drive to the Minnesota/Iowa border just south of Albert Lea and begin the walk to Brainerd, reaching the Crow Wing County Courthouse on June 20. The last leg is a 30-mile walk for those left standing. Along the way, on June 15, they expect to stop for lunch at the state Capitol.
The progress will be charted on a Web site that is being constructed.
In 2003, Walters and his brother biked 1,540 miles from New Orleans to Brainerd as a Kinship Partners fund-raiser. Last summer, Walters perched on a three-foot wide landing at the historic Brainerd water tower about 90 feet above the ground.
Kinship matches children -- most from single-parent families who live in Crow Wing and southern Cass counties -- with adult mentors. Matches between adult mentors and children ages 5 to 14 are based upon interest, location, age and needs.
Children may be enrolled by parents who call the nearest Kinship Partners office. Teachers, counselors or pastors may provide referrals.
Walters is donating his time and cost, such as hotel stays in cities along the way where there are not Kinship Partners connections.
"He's doing this to raise awareness of all mentoring across the state," said Karla Berg, Kinship Partners executive director in Brainerd.
The kids are still working on incentive packages. Reggie suggested a lifetime supply of cookies. But they all agree on one thing -- it will be cool when the walking is done.
RENEE RICHARDSON can be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
|
Schools has an opening fo...
|
|
not a
9-5 person,
how about
11-2, 4-...
|
|
CASH!!
Independent Carrier need...
|
|
position plans sales trai...
|
|
is hiring for the following
...
|
|
|
|
Bids Being Accepted
call...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today's Best Classifieds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Overcast, 61°
