September 14, 2010 - The Little Red Wagon Foundation

I'm a Scouter from Northern Indiana, LaSalle Council. I have been in contact with an amazing 12 year old young man named Zach Bonner. You may have heard of him because he has had some national news media attention. Since December 25, 2009, Zach has been walking from the East Coast of Florida across the country to the West Coast to raise awareness of the plight of homeless and needy kids and to raise money to help them. He will have walked a total of 2,478 miles when he finishes his walk. He started The Little Red Wagon Foundation to tell his story and provide a way for people to help kids.  You can find out more about Zach and his mission by checking out http://littleredwagonfoundation.com/ and you can check his progress at: http://zachtracker.com/.  Zach plans to complete his walk on Tuesday, September 14th, at Santa Monica Pier in California. Zach is not a Scout, but his effort to help others in need is an inspiration and outstanding example for Scouts and everyone.

When I talked to Zach and told him I was a Scout leader, he suggested I could help out by contacting Scout units in the Santa Monica or Los Angeles area and tell them about what he's doing so they can meet him at Santa Monica Pier when he finishes his walk. Zach plans to prepare 1,000 backpacks to distribute to needy kids at the end of his walk, so he may need Scouts to help with that, and with some other things at Santa Monica Pier. I'm sorry I don't have more specific information right now. I don't think Zach's plans for the end of his walk are complete yet.  If you have any questions for me, please feel free to email me at dennis@michiana.org. You will also be able to find out more about Zach's plans by checking his website, and there's also information there on how to contact him directly. This could be a good opportunity for a service project for either individual Scouts or Scout troops.

I'm trying to inform other Scout units and Order of the Arrow lodges about Zach and this service project opportunity if I can find email addresses for them, but I would appreciate it if you could also pass this information on to other Scout leaders and units in your area.

Yours in Scouting,

Dennis Laffin,
Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 555, Granger, IN
Vigil member OA, Sakima Lodge, LaSalle Council