He’s walked thousands of miles for the homeless and underprivileged — and now Zach Bonner‘s amazing story is going to be turned into a Hollywood blockbuster.
The 12-year-old philanthropist made a decision early on in life that he wanted to make a difference. As Tonic previously reported, the young do-gooder started his charity efforts early, collecting water bottles after Hurricane Charley hit Florida when he was just 7-years-old. After that, he decided to start his own nonprofit organization, Little Red Wagon Foundation and walked 1,225 miles to the White House last summer to raise money for all the young people, sleeping on the streets of America.
Having been recognized with various awards in recent years, one of which was presented by President George W. Bush, Bonner has since caught the attention of film producers who have decided to make a full-length feature film, called Little Red Wagon about his life, reports Florida’s Brandon News. According to reports, Patrick Sheane Duncan who wrote Mr. Holland’s Opus has signed up as the screenwriter and David Anspaugh who directed Rudy and Hoosiers will direct the Hollywood-scripted drama. All box office proceeds of the film will go back into the Philanthropy Project, the company who is backing the film and whose mission is to inspire others to do good deeds.
With the young campaigner having just set off on his latest fundraising trip — walking 2,478 miles across America to provide uniforms, backpacks and shoes to underprivileged and homeless children, it’s certainly a busy time for the sixth grader but he never grumbles. “I don’t get tired of it,” he told the Tampa Tribune prior to his trip, which kicked off last Wednesday. “Some kids just can’t get out of homelessness,” he said, adding: “Sometimes, that’s what keeps me going.”
With a documentary film crew accompanying him on the six-month journey from Tallahassee to Los Angeles, Bonner said he was shocked when he heard his life was about to be turned into a movie. “I was pretty surprised that they selected me,” Zach said in a recent email interview from Qatar, where he was speaking to 250 students from 19 countries about homeless youth. If anything, he hopes it might inspire other young people to get involved with helping others less fortunate, thinking “he isn’t any different from me; if he can do it, so can I.”
And if you can’t wait until the movie comes out, watch the video below or log on to www.marchacrossamerica.com to keep track of the ever-inspiring Zach and his amazing adventure.
Photo via Facebook.