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In the long run, a walk of hope Canadian man on mission for neglected children By Bill Varble A motorist honks and waves support, one in a line of cars and trucks roaring past Norman Ball. It�s Wednesday morning on Interstate 5 near the Petro truck stop south of Medford. Ball set out on foot from near Phoenix, Ariz., Jan. 1 on an 8,250-mile walk to raise money for "throw-away" children. "Before we�re finished, this will raise hundreds of millions of dollars," the 58-year-old grandfather says. That�s in the very long run. Over the next year, his goal is to raise $10 million. Ball expects to spend today walking between Medford and Grants Pass. He�ll walk through the Pacific Northwest and Canada before hitting Chicago and Detroit. He plans to be in New York City one year from Tuesday and wind up in Phoenix 20 months after he left. He�s accompanied by a support van with his wife, Dianne, and Jeff Short, his crew. The Balls were living in Toronto, Canada, where he was a motivational speaker running workshops and corporate trainings when he decided to do something about the plight of children living in shantytowns. His first inspiration was runner Terry Fox, who ran with an artificial leg for cancer a generation ago. Inspired anew by Canadian swimmer Vicki Keith, a guest at one of Ball�s seminars in August, the couple sold all their possessions and scrambled for sponsors. By November, Ball was walking almost every day. He started on New Year�s Day at 255 pounds, walking 10 or 15 miles a day. Now he�s a trim 215 and hitting 20 and 25 miles a day. "I have some 50-milers coming up," he says. The toughest part has been hiking over mountains in the snow in California, where state police regularly stopped him from walking along the freeway. He spent several days in early February in snow near the Grapevine north of Los Angeles. Ball has so far raised a bit less than $30,000. Other than minimal expenses, he says, all the money raised goes to organizations helping poor children around the world. He raises money from individuals, church groups, businesses, what have you. People give him money in person along the road, or by mailing donations or pledges to Walk of Hope, PMB 241, 14700 Frank Lloyd Wright Building, No. 157, Scottsdale, AZ, 85260. He has corporate sponsors for shoes and nutrition products, including supplements designed to ease an aching back. Many Best Western motels have donated rooms for a night. In charge of cash and pledges is David and Goliath International Ministries of Arizona, which agreed to take a zero cut. For more, visit www.walkofhope.org . Topping Ball�s list of priorities: the street children of Romania, El Salvador, Haiti, Brazil and India, and children on American Indian reservations and in inner cities. "Children the age of my grandchildren are living in the streets, garbage dumps and sewers," he says. "Part of the problem is, we see it on TV and we become anesthetized. "I�m ashamed of how little I�ve done to help others." Ball says he�s growing stronger, although his back and hips hurt constantly. He says the unevenness of the road torments him. Short, a fellow Canadian who recently graduated from college and hadn�t yet found a real job, says of creeping slowly behind Ball for mile after mile, "It�s not as bad as I thought it would be." Ball says he�s amazed by the kindness of strangers. A woman flagged him down near Yreka, Calif., gave him $20 and said the two children with her had been starving when she adopted them several years ago in China. He�s had one close call � with a car that nearly hit him when the driver was distracted. Walking through tough East Los Angeles, he heard what he thought may have been menacing remarks from some young Hispanic men. "Why don�t you give them a card?" Short said. Ball gave the men a little card that explained what he�s doing. "They smiled and said that was cool," he says. "They gave me these special handshakes." Ball sometimes picks up stuff along the road like tools or coins. He carries a leather pouch in which he collects those little weights used in tire balancing. He�s collected more than 300 pounds so far, and expects eventually to pick up 3,000 pounds. Some day, he says, they�ll be in a sculpture. He envisions it someplace visible, like the United Nations Headquarters, a big sculpture of a throw-away child needing our help. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.