According to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this year, there were 552,830 people experiencing homelessness in the United States in 2018. It found that nearly 160,000 children and young people experienced homelessness—which is nearly 30 percent of the total. Zach Bonner is one of many people trying to highlight this problem and help out.
Zach Bonner sharing his presentation at Western Academy of Beijing (WAB)’s Distinguished Speaker Series
At Western Academy of Beijing (WAB)’s Distinguished Speaker Series, we met Bonner, the founder of Little Red Wagon, a non-profit organization that raises money to aid the 1.3 million homeless children in the United States. He founded the organization in 2005, when he was just 7 years old. His work to raise awareness and money through long-distance walks to fund housing construction has earned him recognition around the world, including the Presidential Service Award. After the screening of Bonner’s film, Little Red Wagon, and his presentation, we caught up with Bonner for a short interview on his incredible experiences.
It all started with a case of water. Bonner was 7 when he heard the news unfold on the radio that the victims of Hurricane Charley needed help and supplies. He decided to do something about it. With his mom Laurie’s help, the family donated water, food, and other supplies that Bonner had collected over four months. After that, he got involved in a couple more projects, and he has not stopped since.
When asked what keeps him going, Bonner said: “It’s the kids that keep me going. Because these kids, they’re homeless and they don’t get to just say that they are tired of being homeless.” He also thinks it’s a lot of fun.
There definitely have been times when people thought Bonner was too young to make it happen, or days when things haven’t gone as expected. Zach has his own response to these challenges.
“Definitely trying to overcome the fact that as a 6-year-old, people didn’t take me very seriously. Even as I continued to get older, they still didn’t really it take seriously that a 10-year-old was trying to start a foundation,” Bonner told us. “But recognizing that, for everybody who tells you ‘no’, you will eventually find somebody that will tell you ‘yes’, you just need to keep trying. And if you continue to break through the windows, you will eventually find the support you need. You will make a difference.”
As actions speak louder than words, Bonner has been doing a lot of trekking to raise money. He mentioned that he was inspired by a documentary about the Peace Pilgrim, a woman who walked miles to advocate for peace.
“Her overwhelming commitment to spending her life literally walking across the country is such a lofty goal.”
On his 10th birthday, along with his mother and sister, he made a 23-day trek, about a dozen miles a day, from Valrico to Tallahassee. The walk raised approximately USD 25,000 in money and supplies. After that, he walked from Tallahassee to Atlanta, and later to Washington DC.
During Bonner’s incredible journey since he started at a very young age, we learned that his mom, Laurie, has played a really significant role. He told us he really appreciates what his mom did.
“She would never jump on any of my decisions, instead, she’d listen and respect a lot. I think that’s really important to encourage a kid.”
From Bonner’s story, we take the lesson “Dream big, do small”. No matter whether you are young or old, you can always make your dream come true. He shared with beijingkids that “you can write down your goals, then break them into different smaller tasks to fulfill them. There are some time-focus apps out there as well. Everything really adds up and makes a difference.”
Photos: southtampamagazine.com, zimbio.com, courtesy of Zach Bonner
