By WMBD
BLOOMINGTON – When you think rollerblading, you probably picture doing it at a roller rink or maybe in the park. But for one man — it’s a way to travel across the country!
Mike Lempko is a 26-year-old man rollerblading his way from coast-to-coast this summer to raise money for No Kid Hungry.
He says, “I saved up enough money, got to the point where I had a great education, great family, and a lot of kids aren’t born in as fortunate circumstances or with as much opportunity… I wanted to find something that brings that same opportunity back to kids specifically through underprivileged education and No Kid Hungry does that on a national scale through a lot of their school breakfast and school lunch programs by making sure kids get to eat and stay healthy.”
With that vision in mind, Lempko started his roughly 4,200-mile journey in San Francisco, and is working his way to New York City. And on Friday, he was in Bloomington.
He says through his toughest moments, it’s been an experience he sure will never forget.
“The biggest thing that’s helped me… open mindedness toward strangers. So many people go so far out of their way that I’ve never met in my life to help me.. and I go out of my way just to put my trust in those people’s hands.”
He even spent a night with the Mayor of Marshall, Missouri, after a run-in with him at the town’s local Applebee’s.
Lempko is expected to complete his cross-country trip mid-September.
He has already raised close to 15,000 dollars, and if you want to donate, you can head to his website, mikeonblades.com.
He also says if you happen to see him along his journey, he’s looking for a safe place to sleep every night, and says he’ll have plenty of stories to share.
