About this user
Project Meet Me Halfway was born in Jimmy Wayne's kitchen last December. He had turned up the heat on his thermostat in his house in Nashville, and stood with his cup of coffee, remembering the great year he'd had playing music on the "American Saturday Night" tour with Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley, and he felt very fortunate.
"This guilty feeling came over me," Wayne says. "Here I am living life. I'm comfortable. I'd been on the Brad Paisley tour for a lot of the year, and I just didn't feel like I'd done anything to make a difference. I got to thinking, and I said, 'What if I walk halfway across the country to raise awareness [about youth who age out of the foster care system with nowhere to go]?'"
A month later, Jimmy Wayne had layed out his plan: he would walk from Nashville, TN to Phoenix, AZ in the middle of winter.
Jimmy Wayne called his project "Meet Me Halfway" as a play on words, so that it had layers of meaning - the walk would be halfway across the country, he would find supporters who would "meet him halfway" by volunteering and helping to spread the word, and he would interview with media outlets to generate publicity and awareness of the issue. Always, the central focus was the youth in foster care who were at risk of aging out without resources, who were in danger of ending up on the streets. Ultimately, they would need to do their part as well by taking advantage of their opportunities and working to make their own lives better.
"Because I was helped when I needed it, I want to try and help now," Wayne said. "If the bit of celebrity I have can help me raise awareness of this situation --that there are kids and young people out there who need our help, then I feel like I have accomplished my goal. I'm not asking people to come out and walk with me, but I am asking them to meet me halfway by getting involved - donate money, adopt a kid, learn more about the foster child/foster parent program in your local community. There's so much one person can do, and so many ways they can make a difference. It just takes one person to help someone to a better life."
Age
23
Country
United States
ProjectMeetMeHalfway
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