CALABASAS, Calif. (Oct. 27) - At 7:45 AM on a recent morning, 700 kids at Lupin Hill Elementary School in Calabasas, Calif., dozens of teachers, scores of parents, and a host of reporters and TV cameras all waited excitedly for the arrival of a certain sixth-grader.
Hard to believe, but then 11-year-old Zach Bonner, president of the Tampa-based Little Red Wagon Foundation is quickly becoming to philanthropy what Mick Jagger is to the Rolling Stones: a rock star who kids adore, parents approve of, and the media swarm.
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This past summer, Zach captured local and national headlines by walking 668 miles from Atlanta to Washington D.C. - the final leg of his 1,225-mile "My House to the White House" sojourn that began in Tampa two years earlier.
Zach walked the walk in order to urge kids nationwide to get up from their TV sets and video games and get out and make a difference in their neighborhoods. "You're never too young to change the world," Zach enthuses. "You don't have to do a huge project; you can do small things."
Zach's message is resonating with both children and grownups nationwide -- helped, no doubt, by the widespread suffering caused by today's ailing economy -- and his recent visit to Lupin Hill proves it.
The students and teachers at the suburban school -- led by fifth-graders calling themselves the "Zach Pack" -- began preparing for the event weeks beforehand. Kids suddenly excited about (and able even to pronounce the word) philanthropy gave up their lunch hours to make dozens of hand-held signs and to paint a 15-foot-long welcome banner. For days, eager to support Zach's philanthropic efforts on behalf of homeless kids in America, they dropped their spare change into a large empty Sparkletts bottle at the front of the school.
When the big morning finally dawned, Zach and his mom were greeted with wild cheers. High-fiving, sign-toting Lupin Hill students mobbed Zach, as they escorted him to the school playground for a special assembly.
Standing before the entire student body on a makeshift stage under a cloudless blue sky, Zach was welcomed by the school's Principal Sheila J. Grady and a succession of local VIPs, including the Mayor of Calabasas, Jon Wolfson, and the Superintendent of the Las Virgenes School District, Don Zimring.
But the highlight came when the students themselves presented Zach with a pair of specially designed sneakers for his next philanthropy walk -- an historic and physically challenging 2,500-mile trek from Tampa to Los Angeles, beginning next spring -- and a $200 check for his foundation. In a moving climax, they performed a special song written for Zach, the final words of which are: "You're a shooting star that breaks the mold!"
After the ceremony, Zach made a series of classroom visits, during which Lupin Hill students were able to have meaningful discussions with him about philanthropy and the power of a single child to make a difference.
For Zach, it was one more invaluable opportunity to leave behind his core message: "When the spirit of a child is combined with the experience of an adult, great things can be accomplished."
"This day will be remembered fondly for a very long time by all who were in attendance," remarked one parent. "It is wonderful to meet ... a child living out what we were taught by Mother Theresa," summarized Rose M. K. Dunn, the school district's Director of Elementary Education, "that we cannot do great things, only small things with great love."
To keep track of Zach's exciting philanthropic journey, keep visiting this channel for exclusive updates.
