NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. — They hope to make the world a better place one step at a time. The East Coast Greenway stretches 3,000 miles from the United States-Canada border in Maine all the way to Key West in Florida. A husband and wife are walking that entire stretch to raise money for kids.
While traffic zooms by, Grace and Matt Grooms are moving at a brisk pace, as brisk as two people and two dogs who are on a 3,000-mile journey can go.
"Nemo," said Matt Grooms, referring to one of his dogs, "we go off her pace but she's a tank. We did 25 miles yesterday and she woke up pulling the leash this morning."
Beyond just a personal quest to walk the entire length of the East Coast Greenway, the Grooms are raising money for Elevate Youth, a non-profit based in Boston that helps underserved kids enjoy the outdoors.
"The outdoors has absolutely transformed our lives and we've been lucky enough growing up to have access to that," said Grace Grooms, "and to know there's so many kids who don't have access to the outdoors, this is important."
So far, they've raised nearly $60,000 of their $100,000 goal, and thousands of people have followed their journey on social media. Some even let the couple stay the night while they're on their walk.
"It's been really cool to get a taste of the United States in everyone's homes as we go down," said Grace Grooms.
In fact, multiple people in Neptune Beach pulled over to the side of the road to take pictures and talk with the Grooms while they walked through the First Coast, including a curious reporter.
"You've been together for months and months on end and for the most part you're the only people, have you run out of things to talk about?" asked First Coast News Reporter Rich Donnelly.
"As soon as Covid hit, we've been together 24/7 pretty much the whole time," said Matt Grooms, "so we're used to each other. People always ask 'do you guys ever bicker or get mad at each other' and if we're hungry maybe a little bit, but other than that we have a pretty good time."
A good time through thousands of miles of the East Coast Greenway, all for a good cause.
"To be able to help kids get outdoors and get that exposure is so important and can help transform your mind in a lot of different ways," said Grace Grooms.
The Grooms hope to finish their journey by mid-December so they can spend Christmas with their family.
For more information about Matt and Grace Grooms and to follow their journey, visit their website.
For information on how to donate to their cause to benefit the non-profit Elevate Youth, visit here.
More information about Elevate Youth can be found here.