FUND-RAISER Firefighter walks 150 miles

His effort for spina bifida awareness raised more than $3,000 this year.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- October was Spina Bifida Awareness Month, so firefighter John Fritz decided to take a walk.
He set out Oct. 17 from Fire Station No. 1 on state Route 46, dressed in all his firefighting gear.
Two days later, he arrived at the door of Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland.
Then he turned around and walked back to the fire station, getting there Oct. 21 around 4 p.m.
On his trip, he met some nice people. "Lots of people asked me if I needed a ride or knew where I was at."
He endured some jokes. "People said, 'It's Halloween already.' I had a couple of people remind me that how pioneers got across the country was walking."
He had some long talks with walkers who accompanied him on various legs of the journey, including Austintown firefighters John McHenry, Joe Garcia and Tom O'Hara; Canfield firefighter Fred Markum; Youngstown firefighter Joe Rossi; Ed Carrozzino; and Cheri Manners. Manners walked with him again Oct. 30 at the Peace Walk in Youngstown, along with students from Hermitage High School.
And he raised more than $3,000 for the hospital, Tri-County Spina Bifida and the Military Order of the Marine Corps Devil Dogs.
He said last week that donations were still coming in.
Special devotion
Fritz has a special interest in raising awareness of spina bifida, because his 5-year-old daughter, Ryley, has it. The 150-mile round-trip walk to Cleveland was his third October fund-raiser.
"Four years ago, I stood at Wal-Mart for 24 hours with full gear on," he said. That effort raised $3,500.
"The next year, I walked 73 miles to Cleveland, one-way," he said, and raised $7,500.
Last year, he got sick.
But this year, he was ready to go again. He had nice weather, luckily missing last week's dreary, chilly rain.
A motor home accompanied him, which he used for rest stops and meals. He was driven home every night, where he showered and slept. Then, he was driven back the next day to the same spot he'd left the day before. He walked about 20 to 25 miles a day.
Fritz said donations are likely down this year because people have been donating to hurricane relief efforts and because gas prices have been so high.
He said he will do another fund-raiser next October, though he doesn't know what it will be.
"It won't be a walk; it'll be something local. I've got to do something different."