CLEARFIELD – Cameron Coupe and Alexander Roman are from the Seattle, Wash. area. The duo is walking across the United States in order to raise money for the Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Both have ties to the hospital and want to give back. Alexander explained, “The reason that I am walking is to help support Seattle Children’s Hospital, specifically the Autism Center.
“I have a younger sister and older brother in my family. My brother is autistic and I am utilizing this walk to help fund autism research. I am using this opportunity to help many people I don’t know, and to grow and mature as a person while on this adventure.”
Cameron added, “I began to entertain the idea that had been in the back of my mind for nearly two years. That idea was a walk across the United States – Seattle to New York. The ball really began rolling when I found someone crazy enough to do the walk with me.”
For Cameron that person turned out to be his roommate, Alexander. At that point, the duo decided to walk for a cause, and that was to support Seattle Children’s Hospital. Cameron stated, “I chose to raise money for Seattle Children’s because my cousin, Katie, suffered through two bouts of cancer before losing the fight on Sept. 30, 2006 at age 7.
“After the five-month trek from coast-to-coast, I will return to school knowing that I gave back, and did all that I could to help out children fighting battles 100 times more difficult than walking across America.”
Both Cameron and Alexander are attending Washington State University, taking the fall semester off to finish their walk for children. Both worked summer jobs in 2013 to earn their money towards this trip across the United States.
The duo started their journey on May 19 and made their way into Clearfield on Oct. 3. Alexander called the West Side United Methodist Church to see if they could pitch their tent on the property for the night.
The church secretary spoke with head of trustees, Bill Emerick, who happened to live next door to see if it would be OK. He stated, “Yes, of course.” However, Emerick took his hospitality a little further, feeding and opening his home to Cameron and Alexander on the very rainy and damp night.
While in Clearfield, the duo went to the Dutch Pantry for dinner and toured the West Side United Methodist Church. They also met with the Pastor, Dr. Joleen Willis, and several residents who were attending “Safe Sanctuary” training before heading to pick up some new sneakers.
Cameron had been through six pairs of sneakers; Alexander was on his fourth pair of sneakers. The duo is headed to New York City and averages around 25 miles per day and Oct. 3 marked their 140th day of their journey.
The duo has walked more than 2,800 miles and for 920 hours so far. Alexander posted on Facebook that Pennsylvania is the most wooded area that they have gone through and is a contender for the most beautiful state of the trip.
While on their cross-country journey, both Cameron and Alexander contact home daily, journal every day for about two hours and are thankful for this opportunity.
Cameron and Alexander also appreciate help along the way, especially donations for the children. You can follow the duo on Facebook at Walk for Seattle Children’s. You can also place a donation here.