Destination: Hope for cancer patients

Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Rob Bonora (left) and Anthony Greco stand in front of the White Grill with the strollers they have pushed across at least four states. The pair left San Diego, Calif., on July 1 and arrived in Nevada on Friday, Aug. 6. After enjoying some Nevada hospitality, the men left on Sunday, Aug. 8, bound for Nutley, N. J., where the proceeds from their fund raising walk for cancer will be put to local use.

Two New Jersey men who are walking across the United States to raise money for charities benefiting people with cancer walked into Nevada on Friday, Aug. 6. Rob Bonora and Anthony Greco arrived in town and were welcomed and shown some Nevada hospitality by Mile Turnbull, Chairman of the Vernon County Cancer Relief Fund and other members of the community.

Bonora and Greco, both 23, are from Nutley, N.J., but began their walk in San Diego, Calif. on June 1. They trudged across the deserts of California and Arizona and climbed some of the mountains in New Mexico and Colorado before striking across Kansas and finally reaching Wichita.

"Wichita was nice, it had a feel to it," said Bonora. The outskirts of the town, "almost felt like home," said Greco. They didn't linger long but kept pushing, sometimes making more than 30 miles a day. By the time they reached Nevada, they had both worn out four pairs of shoes.

There have been other things wear out too. For the first 10 days, they carried backpacks filled with about 40 pounds of gear. But it got to the point where the strain on muscles and tendons was so hard that they gave up the backpacks. Greco said, "the first three days, we weren't prepared to do that, 30 miles with the back pack was frustrating."

The men got off to a bad start, but both their fathers flew out to support them a bit. "That's when we were hurting most," said Greco. That's also when they came up with the idea of hauling their gear on a mover's dolly. It didn't take but a few days to melt the tires off of that, and that's when a baby stroller was suggested. Even with the squeaky wheel and funny looks they get, the strollers have worked out well.

The two men have been friends since high school. They both attended Montclair State University in New Jersey and graduated in the spring of 2010 with degrees in finance. They lived together for four months while participating in the Study Away program in Italy. They are best friends and have had no problems during their walk.

Greco said that the two of them are always sitting around talking and the idea for this walk came up as "a way to give something back." It didn't take long for the idea to grow into a viable project. They are working to raise the money for two non profit organizations called Gail's Angels and Derek's Dreams and St. Jude's Children's Hospital. The two men have several corporate sponsors from the Nutley area. So far they have raised about $30,000 toward their goal of $100,000.

Both men agreed that Nevada was one of the best cities they had been in so far. And they said that the best part of the journey was the people they had met along the way. People have been very good about treating them to meals and providing low cost or free lodging during the trip. Their primary source of funding has been the citizens of their hometown of Nutley.

The mayor of Nutley conducted a fundraising campaign for the two men before they left. Mayor Joanne Cocchiola asked residents to contribute bank cards in any denomination that the men could use to obtain food and lodging along their route. Those initial funds and the generosity of those along the route have kept the men well taken care of.

When Bonora and Greco strolled into Nevada Friday they were met by Mike Turnbull. Turnbull opened up his home to the men while they were in town. Bonora's father Angelo Bonora and his uncle Bill Cannici had flown in to offer some support while the two were making their way across this part of the country. Several community members, some of them VCCRF board members, met the pair and treated them to a meal at the Iguana Azul on Friday evening. They were also treated to breakfast by the White Grill before making the walk on east to El Dorado Springs.

The pair returned to Nevada on Saturday evening and spent another night with Turnbull. Turnbull said the men hadn't had a long, restful break since they began walking. "They were awesome young men," said Turnbull. Bonora and Greco returned to El Dorado Springs on Sunday morning to continue their trek with Turnbull and Debra Comstock joining them for the next leg of their journey which would carry them to Weaubleau. From there, the pair will make their way eastward to St. Louis and on to Nutley with an anticipated arrival of Oct. 3.

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