Florida boy who runs a mile for every fallen police officer raises over $20G
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Zechariah Cartledge, a 10-year-old boy from Florida, is on a mission to support police officers and fallen heroes: one mile and one dollar at a time.
He dedicates each mile he runs to a fallen police officer, whom he names and shares their story, after saying a quick prayer. Zechariah got the idea two years ago when he ran the Tunnels to Towers 5K alongside police officers and firefighters who were in full gear, in Orlando.
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"I really just wanted to honor police officers because they do so much for us in the community and the hate that they're getting is just really unacceptable because they do so much for us and when I hear an officer pass away it just breaks my heart," Zechariah told "Fox & Friends" Monday morning.
A 10-year-old boy in Florida has reportedly found his own way to pay his respects to fallen law enforcement officers – by running for them. (Courtesy of Susan Cartledge)
Zechariah's dad, Chad, wrote on his page "Running for Heroes" that he loves seeing people use their God-given talents as a way to honor our heroes.
"Zechariah’s gift is running, so he runs a mile for every fallen on-duty LEO while also raising funds for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation," he said.
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The 10-year-old has pledged to run at least 150 miles this year, holding the Thin Blue Line flag, to honor the law enforcement officers who died on-duty in 2018.
At the beginning of the year, Zechariah asked people to "prayerfully consider" supporting his cause. His goal was to raise $100 for each fallen officer, a total of $15,000, but he raised over $20,000 as of Monday.
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Zechariah has already run several miles this year in honor of deceased officers, according to his Facebook page, Running for Heroes. (Courtesy of Susan Cartledge)
"I don't know lots of people that can take a bullet for anyone they don't know in the community and it's just an amazing thing, so I really want to honor them," he said.
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Zechariah has considered becoming a police officer when he gets older but he humbly adds that he doesn't think he has the bravery to carry out the job.
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"It's really hard to have a job as a police officer because you have to do so much in the community to keep everyone safe," he said.
Zechariah's other dreams are to be a professional soccer player or an Olympic runner.