Zach Bonner

Zachary L. Bonner (born November 17, 1997) is an American philanthropist and founder of the non-profit charity Little Red Wagon Foundation. Bonner received the Presidential Service Award in 2006.

When he was seven years old, he founded the organization to aid the 1.3 million homeless children in the United States. In 2004, when Hurricane Charley hit neighborhoods, he collected 27 pickup trucks of water in his little red wagon. He established the Little Red Wagon Foundation to "continue helping kids more efficiently".

Bonner organized Christmas parties for homeless children living in Baker, Louisiana, To mitigate the adverse effects of homelessness, Bonner hosted parties for children who live in shelters at Build-A-Bear Workshop, Chuck E. Cheese's, and Six Flags.

In April 2007, he organized 24 Hours, an event that simulated being homeless for 24 hours. During that period of time, students in high school stayed in their own separate boxes for 24 hours. 24 Hours 2015 was the seventh year of the event in which youths 12 to 21 years old each paid $24 to live in cardboard boxes for an hour to simulate being homeless.

In January 2010, he launched a national campaign to end child homelessness. As keynote speaker at The Children's Philanthropy Center Annual Youth Symposium in Northern Virginia, he inspired young activists to use their voice to create change. The message, "You Matter! Let Your Voice Be Heard" became the signature anthem for their youth advocacy movement.

My House to the White House Zach Bonner's "My House to the White House" project took place in three stages covering 1,225 miles to raise awareness and funds for homeless children. The first leg in 2007 from November 3–26 covered 280 miles from Tampa to Tallahassee, Florida and raised $25,000. The second leg in the fall of 2008 covered over 250 miles from Tallahassee to Atlanta, Georgia. The 668-mile, 59-day walk from Georgia to Washington D.C. was completed on July 10. On the final stretch of the walk, 500 people, among them 300 homeless children, walked with Bonner down the National Mall. Bonner met with Saxby Chambliss and spoke with several other U.S. Senators on Capitol Hill.

March Across America

In 2010, he walked from Tampa to Los Angeles. Bonner walked an average of 17–22 miles every day. During his walk, he gave gift cards to people in need. Multiple television and radio stations tracked for their viewers Bonner's journey across America using the "Zach Tracker" GPS. Lee Cowan of NBC Nightly News "Making A Difference" profiled Bonner in early August; Cowan called Bonner a "pint-sized philanthropist". On September 14, 2010, Bonner completed the nearly 2,500-mile-walk to Santa Monica, California. At the age of 12, he became the youngest person to walk from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast of the United States.

Zach in a Box Beginning March 26, 2013, Bonner lived seven days in a plexiglas box in a field near Westfield Brandon mall. With plywood serving as the box's bottom, pieces of cardboard, and a sleeping bag, Bonner aimed to imitate a homeless person's lodgings. He organized "World's Largest Food Drive: Food for a Million" with Metropolitan Ministries and Feeding America Tampa Bay, an attempt to collect one million pounds of food in 24 hours. The collected food was delivered to 10 counties: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter, Highlands, Hardee, and Manatee.

Awards and recognition

In 2006, Zach received the Presidential Service Award from President George W. Bush. In the same year, he was honored with the Points of Light Award by Florida governor Jeb Bush for his volunteer service. Bonner has met George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He has been featured on Good Morning America and in 2011 was named a hometown hero by Reader's Digest.

In 2007, Bonner was named one of 12 "Huggable Heroes" by the Build-A-Bear Workshop. On March 19, 2008, he received the Alexandra Scott Butterfly Award from the Volvo for life Awards, hosted by Volvo on 42nd Street. In 2009, the readers and editors of Beliefnet chose Bonner as the Most Inspiring Person of the Year. Receiving 22% of the vote, Bonner defeated the "hero pilot" Chesley Sullenberger and students in Iran who protested against a rigged election despite considerable jeopardy to their lives.

Philanthropy Project movie

Michael Guillen, the CEO of the non-profit organization Philanthropy Project, planned to make a $5 million movie about the Zach Bonner's walks and the Little Red Wagon Foundation. Bonner's story was selected from among a pool of 6,000 candidates. After the number of candidates was narrowed to 12, Bonner's story was unanimously chosen. Praising Bonner for his philanthropy, Guillen said that "e's sincere. He's humble. He's generous. He's everything that is good about our country. So... when I see Zach, I see the future of our country, and I think we're going to be in good hands."

Patrick Sheane Duncan is the movie's screenwriter, and David Anspaugh is its director. Little Red Wagon was filmed in May 2010.

Personal life Zach L. Bonner was born in Searcy, Arkansas on November 17, 1997. He lives in a single-parent household and now resides in Valrico, Tampa, Florida with his mother Laurie and sister Kelley. Bonner's mother is a real estate agent and investor.

In a November 2007 interview with The Independent Florida Alligator, he said he wished to go to college at Harvard University and attend Yale Law School, so that he can become a prosecutor.

A February 2017 article in the Tampa Bay Times noted that Bonner attended the Brandon campus of Hillsborough Community College during high school, and presently works at Apple Inc. After high school, he attended the University of Florida where he studied Computer Science and Software Engineering.