NASVILLE,
TN-DECEMBER
12,
2008--
Dashiel
Alsup
can’t
help but
look
back on
the
seven
months
since he
stepped
away
from the
cold
waters
of the
Pacific
Ocean
and
started
walking
toward
Florida.
The
first
week was
brutal:
his feet
were
coated
with
blisters,
he was
consumed
with
loneliness
and
plagued
with
doubts
about
ever
reaching
the East
Coast.
“Florida
felt
like a
fairly
impossible
goal,”
he
says.
But Dash
kept
walking,
mile
after
mile.
The 19
year-old
encountered
wild
animals
in the
cold
Oregon
mountains
and
suffered
through
100+
degree
heat
walking
through
the
Flaming
Gorge in
Utah
during a
scorching
week.
“Yeah,
those
were hot
days,
and 60
miles
between
stops,”
he
said.
“But
coming
into
Vernal,
Utah and
getting
to the
7-11 to
pick up
an ice
cold 44
ounce
Big Gulp
was
joyous,”
he says,
laughing.
Dash
kept
walking,
steadily
achieving
20-25
miles
per day,
mostly
barefoot,
through
Colorado,
Kansas
and
Missouri.
“There
were a
few
times
that I
had to
put on
sandals,
when the
road
conditions
were
just too
hot or
the
debris
was so
bad,” he
says.
He lost
count of
the
number
of
people
who gave
him food
or gave
him a
place to
stay for
the
night,
insisting
on
feeding
him
dinner,
or
sharing
their
faith.
“America
is full
of
incredibly
gracious
people,”
he
says.
“I can’t
tell you
how many
times
someone
went out
of their
way to
help
me.
They had
no idea
what I
was up
to, they
were
just
doing it
from
their
heart.”
There
were
also
times
his
safety
was in
doubt.
Occasionally,
locals
would
confront
him
about
his
intentions
before
they
realized
he was
supporting
charity.
Dash
spent
one day
working
for a
man who
had
spent 11
years in
prison
for drug
smuggling.
“Here we
are
alone,
deep in
the
woods,
and I’m
hauling
brush
while
he’s
getting
sauced
and
revving
up his
chainsaw,”
Dash
says.
“Turns
out he
was a
good
guy; he
just
wanted
someone
to
confide
in, not
chop
into
pieces.”
Dash
started
appearing
in
newspaper
stories
and
being
featured
on
television,
especially
in
Nashville,
where
Soles4Souls
is
based.
He
walked
together
with
charity
Founder,
Wayne
Elsey,
to a
local
shelter
to
distribute
shoes to
the
homeless.
“He is a
special
kid, and
there’s
no doubt
his
commitment
to
helping
people
is
authentic,”
says
Elsey.
“Just
look at
all the
fans he
has who
are
following
his epic
journey.
We’re
proud to
be
associated
with
him.”
He
walked
southeast
through
Georgia,
sensing
the end
of the
journey
and
counting
down the
number
of miles
to
Jacksonville.
Yesterday,
he
completed
his
journey
with
hundreds
of
supporters
and
Soles4Souls
staff
walking
with him
to the
Atlantic.
Even
several
NFL
players
from the
Jacksonville
Jaguars
were in
attendance
and
participated
in
another
shoe
distribution
for
homeless
in their
city.
“I’m
happy
that I
can
bring
some
attention
to
Soles4Souls,”
he
says.
“It’s a
simple
thing,
you
know,
putting
shoes on
people’s
feet.
For
people
without
shoes,
it can
mean the
world.”
Dash
keeps a
blog of
his
travels
at
http://asinglepebble.blogspot.com.
You can
learn
more
about
his epic
trek and
the
charity
he
supports
at
www.giveshoes.org.
About
Soles4Souls
Nashville-based
Soles4Souls™
facilitates
the
donations
of both
new and
used
shoes,
which
are used
to aid
the
hurting
worldwide.
Soles4Souls
has
distributed
more
than 3.9
million
pairs
(currently
one pair
every 19
seconds)
to
people
in over
70
countries,
including
Honduras,
Uganda,
Romania,
and the
United
States.
The
charity
has been
featured
recently
in
Runner's
World
and the
Green
Guide by
National
Geographic.
It has
also
appeared
on CNN,
NBC,
ABC,
FOX,
CBS, and
hundreds
of
regional
outlets
around
North
America.
Soles4Souls
is a
501(c)(3)
recognized
by the
IRS;
donating
parties
are
eligible
for tax
advantages.
Visit
www.giveshoes.org
for more
information.
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