In a week when good news was hard to find, our hearts were warmed by the story of Mickey Nelson, a 99-year-old World War II veteran from Minnesota who is walking 160km through his small city of Clarks Grove in an initiative he has named ‘Walking to 100’ to raise funds for The Salvation Army.
Mr Nelson – who turns 100 on June 27 – said he was inspired by the story on UK war veteran Tom Moore who raised more than AUD$58 million by walking 100 laps around his garden.
Since starting his walk last month, Mr Nelson has raised over AUD$60,000 for The Salvation Army’s feeding and emergency programs.
“During the years of the depression, they had soup lines and other ways for people to get food and that stood out to me because I’ve been lucky to always have food on the table,” he told CNN.
“When everything happened, that is what I thought of: there are people going hungry and I can do something about it.”
Mr Nelson, whose wife is quarantined in a nearby aged care home, says he now hopes to help feed as many people as possible while reminding the world that we are all in this together.
A great message to be putting out there.
