CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Wayne County man has spent the past 45 days walking across West Virginia and he still has a couple hundred miles left to go.
Tom Knopp is hard to miss on the highways and byways of West Virginia in his neon green t-shirts with www.walkingouthunger.org. He calls his campaign “Walking out West Virginia.” It’s all about raising funds for the needy across the state especially food pantries.
So far he’s made his way through 41 counties and has 14 left to go. All of those in southern West Virginia. He started out on April 23 and arrived in Kanawha County Friday morning for a stop at the Sojourners Shelter. He’s set to be back home in Wayne County on June 24.
So just how far has he walked?
“I would say I have walked probably, in the neighborhood of 800 miles thus far,” estimated Knopp. “I’ve sent four pairs [of walking shoes] home so far because they were wore pretty bad.”
He’s wearing his fifth pair of shoes at present and has three more in reserve just in case.
The oldest of 10 children, Knopp went to live with his widowed grandmother at the age of eight.
“I was on the receiving end as a kid and a young man,” said Knopp. “I was raised into a home that had very, very little.”
He said they could not have survived without West Virginia commodity food.
Knopp is a small business owner who had a bout with cancer a decade ago, he wanted to make a difference in his community. Now he’s taken the first steps towards meeting that goal. He knows food pantries across West Virginia are struggling.
“I’ve seen a great need,” stressed Knopp. “I knew it existed but I didn’t realize just how bad it was until I started out on this venture.”
With more and more pantries struggling to meet the demands of the community, Knopp hopes to raise awareness of hunger in West Virginia and help raise $550,000.
“It’s been an adventure of a lifetime. I’ve seen sights I never thought I’d ever see,” said Knopp. “I’ve met some wonderful people. I met some generous people.”
If you’d like to help Knopp’s campaign, you can log on to www.walkingouthunger.org.