Status:    Thursday 31st August 2006, saw the conclusion of the 800 mile Walk across Wisconsin. A big Thank-you to all those dedicated people who helped make this adventure a reality.

Unfortunately, on the day I was walking into Superior, My own Father was being rushed into hospital back in Australia. He died on Sunday (Saturday American time). Ironically it was Father's Day in Australia.

I've returned to Australia to be with my family. I will be back in a few weeks to continue being a Dad to my daughter and will finish off the daily diary with the final few days commentary and photos.

Overview:   To raise awareness and charitable donations for the plight of the Fatherless children in Wisconsin.  

This walk is dedicated to the children of Wisconsin, because to a child, its family includes both a Mother and Father.  

Back in 1909, Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington invented Father's Day. Her own father, Henry Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran, raised six children after his wife died in childbirth. His daughter wanted a special day to honor the sacrifices he made raising six children alone and the sacrifices of all devoted dads. She selected June 19, her father's birthday, as the first Father's Day

A recent poll found that 72% of Americans believe that fatherless ness is the most significant family or social problem facing America.

In a study of fathers' interaction with their children in intact two-parent families, nearly 90% of the fathers surveyed said that being a Father is the most fulfilling role a man can have.

Yet 40% of the children of divorced parents haven't seen their Dads in the past year.

Fatherless children are "at a dramatically greater risk" of drug and alcohol abuse, says the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Today, all over Wisconsin, there are far too many innocent children that do not have the protection, participation and support of two parents. What is conspicuously obvious by the damning National and State statistics is the lack of two parents to care for children, specifically Fathers.  

It doesn't take a lot of modern sociological data for people to realize that involved Dads make an irreplaceable contribution to the lives of their kids.

This is a ground level walk. A walk to find the truth. A walk to ask the hard questions.

Why Children are suffering Fatherless ness?

Why Fathers are not seeing their children?

Route:        Walk from one end of Wisconsin to the other. The starting point will be on the East bank of the Mississippi River at Sandy Hook on the South West corner of Wisconsin, then across to Milwaukee, back to Madison, up to Green Bay then over to the finish at Superior on the North West corner of Wisconsin.

 Time Span: There will be 43 days of walking with the starting date being Monday June 19, 2006 - the day after Fathers day. The ending date will be August 31st, 2006 - the day before the Labor Day weekend. The walk will not be an every day continuous walk. There will be days of rest. These days will correspond with appearances, speaking engagement and fund raising in the local communities as the walk traverses through local communities.