David Ashby, 14, will walk to D.C. to help homeless children
David Ashby, 14, will be walking from Orlando to Washington, D.C. this summer to raise awareness about homeless children and to raise money for Coalition for the Homeless.
This story may have appeared in the Orlando Sentinel on April Fool’s Day, but the Orlando teen behind the story is not joking. This 14-year old is really planning to walk from Orlando to Washington D.C. during his summer break, sleeping in homeless shelters and begging for food.
Doesn’t sound like your type of vacation? That’s odd, because David can’t think of anything he’d rather do. He wants to raise awareness about child homelessness in the United States, and he didn’t want to promote their needs without first, as the saying goes, “walking a mile in their shoes.”
Well, David will actually be walking more than a mile. He’ll be walking 1,100. And we couldn’t be more excited about it.
At Coalition for the Homeless, we are working closely with David (and his mom Alison, who is overseeing the project to make sure her son stays safe) to get the word out about his summer trek. We found it especially touching that David came up with this idea after learning that dozens of students at Lee Middle School, where he is an eighth grader, are homeless. And we were even more moved that David decided to do something about it.
If the thought of someone as young as David taking action against homelessness thrills you as much as it thrills us, check out his website www.helpingstepbystep.com for more information about this Orlando teen and his summer trek. And, check back on our blog often, since we will be sharing the highlights from David’s journey.
David found a unique way he could help the homeless in his community – and you can too! You don’t have to walk 1,100 miles (unless you are so inclined); you can volunteer or donate right here at Coalition for the Homeless. Visit www.centralfloridahomeless.org to find out how you can make a difference!
This blog’s great!! Thanks
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Thanks Muffett, Shari, and Brent, for all your hard work and dedication to homeless children, and to helping me achieve my goal of raising awareness for them.
David is one of my students and a true inspiration to us all. Thanks to the Coalition for helping him reach his goal.
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hes my best friend
Isn’t this the same thing Zach Bonner from Tampa is doing? I read on his websight that he is already half way there.
David and Zach do have similar goals: they both want to raise awareness about homeless children. However, they are going about their journeys in entirely different ways: Zach has spread his journey over several summer breaks, while David hopes to make the trip in one summer. Also, David is actually living as a homeless child along the way; sleeping in shelters, begging and scrounging for food. (From what we understand, Zach is staying in some form of shelter each night and eating regular meals.)
We admire both of these young men for their active response to the issue of homeless children. We have a special partnership with David, however, because any proceeds that go above the price of gas (for his mother’s minivan, which is slowly following David up to D.C.) will go to support the Coalition. His idea for bringing awareness and empathy to homeless children by “taking a walk in their shoes” has allowed the Coalition to take part in something unique and wonderful.
We wish both David and Zach success on their summer journeys, and we hope that their message of awareness about homeless children is heard loud and clear!
To learn more about David, visit http://helpingstepbystep.com/.
To learn more about Zach, visit http://www.littleredwagonfoundation.com/.
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Hi. I am so amazed and proud to see this. I saw David’s story on the morning news. I talked to my 9 year old son about it and he thought it was great. What a shining example you are! God bless you on your journey, you are very special.
This is the same thing Zach Bonner is doing with the exception he is doing projects for homeless kids along his path. He is begging for food and for a place to camp at night. Seems funny to me David would copy him and give him no credit.
David and Zach do have similar goals: they both want to raise awareness about homeless children. However, they are going about their journeys in entirely different ways: Zach has spread his journey over several summer breaks, while David hopes to make the trip in one summer. When David came up with his plan to journey to D.C. to raise awareness about homeless children, he had never heard of Zach. Since then, we have seen them interact on David’s blog.
We admire both of these young men for their active response to the issue of homeless children. We have a special partnership with David, however, because any proceeds that go above the price of gas (for his mother’s minivan, which is slowly following David up to D.C.) will go to support the Coalition. His idea for bringing awareness and empathy to homeless children by “taking a walk in their shoes” has allowed the Coalition to take part in something unique and wonderful.
We wish both David and Zach success on their summer journeys, and we hope that their message of awareness about homeless children is heard loud and clear!
To learn more about David, visit http://helpingstepbystep.com/.
To learn more about Zach, visit http://www.littleredwagonfoundation.com/.
Dvid,
We are so proud of your endeavor and goal ——–our son, Michael Daugherty was a teacher of yours and we live in Surfside, just about 10 miles South of Myrtle Beach.
If there’s any chance that you’ll be in this immediate area by Monday evening, please feel free to call us 843-650-6834 to let us know where you are.
We saw your coverage on a Charleston station one recent night.
Michael is just back from his European trek and has followed your trek.
We surely wish a complete recovery for your sister and the best for you and your family.
Our best to you,
The Daughertys
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Hey I know this guy, hes my buddy and im sitting next to him right now in 4th period science at Edgewater High School. Hiiiiiiiiii David!!!
I’m 55 and didn’t get the early start that you did. I hope your still doing something for your fellow man. I Volunteer at an IN state prison where they make quilts for the homeless. By the way, down the road about 4 miles, there is an Ashby that was buried in 1797.