100-mile relay for CWF
Two years ago, Legionnaire Mitchell Keil organized a 100-mile relay from his Post 125 in North Adams, Mass., to Post 414 in Sutton, Mass., in support of the American Legion’s Veterans & Children Foundation. Keil and many of the same walkers – Post 125 Legion Family members and friends – recently set out for another 100 miles to support the Legion’s Child Welfare Foundation (CWF) which provides grants to nonprofits that contribute to the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual welfare of children.
The walkers and support vehicles left Post 125 at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 2, and arrived to Post 306 in Paxton, Mass., on Sunday, Aug. 4, after making an overnight stop.
Dressed in bright yellow Child Welfare Foundation shirts, the walkers were visible to passersby to share the message of CWF and raise funds along the way. Keil believes the total raised for CWF is about $10,000. Money raised is the result of donations for the walk and 50/50 raffles throughout the past year at Post 125.
“Every time we do an event at Post 125, we do a 50/50 and instead of taking that 50 and putting it into the general fund, we specifically put it aside for this (CWF fundraiser),” said Keil, a post service officer and the Department of Massachusetts historian. “We’ve learned to not just put it toward everything that we're working on, but to let it accumulate and give it a specific goal. And we tell people exactly what the 50/50 is being raised for.”
Post 125 chose to walk for CWF because it was the fundraising project for immediate Past Department Commander Sandra Davis. And the post knows how to successfully fundraise for the cause as it’s received the CWF 100% Per Capita Banner the past four years.
“Not only am I proud that we were able to do the walk and raise that much money, but that the community was really behind us the whole time we were doing it,” Keil said.
Along the route, the walkers encountered heat, humidity and downpour rain; walked in the dark with the support vehicles’ lights illuminating them; got lost on river walks; shared camaraderie and listened to music or audible books; enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Post 124 in Westfield Sunday morning; and was escorted by the Paxton police and fire department to their final destination of Post 306 where they celebrated with a meal.
“(The walk) definitely wasn’t without its hiccups,” said Keil, “but we had a lot of fun.”
Keil plans to do the 100-mile relay again in 2026 with a goal to visit a new department. He has mapped out posts that are about 100 miles away in Middlebury, Vt., Cooperstown, N.Y, and Danbury, Conn.
“We’re trying to see if there's going to be any interest to receive us in another department,” Keil said.