Kid completes 279-mile walk for homeless

ATLANTA, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- An 11-year-old Florida boy says he hopes his march to Atlanta will inspire others to pitch in and help out the homeless in their towns.

Zach Bonner completed the 279-mile hike from Tallahassee to Atlanta on Monday, his 11th birthday, and told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he hoped he was leading by example.

"We hope other people will see my walk and they'll want to help with their own community," he told the newspaper after running up the steps of the Georgia Capitol to the finish line.

Zach spent the summer cramming in extra study time with his online school so he could take time off for the walk that began last month.

The newspaper said Tuesday the Atlanta walk wasn't Zach's first long-distance trek. He hoofed it from his hometown of Tampa last year to Tallahassee to call attention to the plight of homeless children.