With a heart as big as a calzone, John Joe Madia is as Italian as they come. He is a proud man with a big passion for protecting kids and for helping those with a passion for helping kids. “Victim’s voices are silent no more,” is his motto and is what he wrote on The Kindness Bus. John Joe and I met this morning, in the Harrison County Courthouse, where he works, and after 5 minutes he was inviting me to lunch for some pepperoni rolls, it was as if I had known him a lifetime. I decided to pick John Joe up at the front door of the Courthouse with The Kindness Bus for lunch at D’Annunzio’s, a bread place you can smell a mile away. What a huge treat! Thank you John Joe for the interest, support and for the guided history tour of your life-long neighborhood.
Today we interviewed Stephanie Sumpter of Hope Inc. she works at the Harrison County Courthouse helping victims who come to the courthouse looking for help. Her presence is a huge comfort to those who think they have nowhere to turn until they walk through the door to her office. She has a huge passion for helping people through the arduous process of court ordered protection and the many options available through Hope Inc.
Last evening I was interviewed by Stacy Moniot a reporter from WBOY, a local TV station, it was amazing how many people told me they saw the broadcast. Today, Nicole Porter and Bryan Tolle, reporters for Fox 10 and 5 News interviewed me for their broadcast this evening. Thank you everyone, for helping to spread word of my mission to all of your viewers.
***I ate 6 pepperoni rolls…I’m good to go for at least a week.

Directed by Sue Julian of the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence as to who I should visit in the Clarksburg area, I spoke with Tina Fowler today, Director of the Outreach Program of Hope Inc. Our meeting was about the good they are doing for the community and the help they are getting back from some sectors of the community, helping with office space, donations of toys and books and help from individuals.
We also talked about the effect that drugs are having on the community and how they are affecting families when used by one, and sometimes two parents. There is a manufactured drug that was legal to sell until two months ago. It was adding to the domestic violence and tearing families apart.
Today I opted for forty-five miles of muddy trails rather than ride on the narrow, hilly streets of Clarksburg. It was a fun choice.

Parents behaving badly, when they have children to raise, can never turn out well. It is ironic, that earlier this day, I visited The Children’s Home Society of West Virginia, a foster home for children who have nowhere else to go, except to be turned over to the state. Ironic because of what I and many others witnessed this evening.
While talking with a couple of police officers and others about The Kindness Bicycle Tour, a boy of about 8 years of age saw the sign on my bike which says, “Boys should never hit girls,” to which he replied, “I Like to Hit My Sister, I Love It.” The amazing part is that the parents enjoyed his remark and encouraged him, as he said it a 2nd time. The mother responded about the sister, “Well she beats on him too, so it’s all fair.”  So sad!
I am convinced that boys and girls who are taught not to hit each other during their childhood and adolescence, stand a much greater chance of not being one who would commit domestic violence.
The bicycle rides are getting much more challenging as The Kindness Bicycle Tour pedals well into West Virginia.

Funding cuts should never happen to a business, whose business it is to protect children who are abused. This unfortunately is the case for many Children’s Advocacy Centers, including the one I visited today; Child Safe. I had the opportunity to talk with Kelly Bober, Executive Director of Child Safe, in Winchester, Virginia today.
This center, where a child can feel comfortable and come to volunteer, without prompting, what has happened to them, is an essential piece in removing the perpetrator from the child’s life. Many details have to be integrated into a facility like this to make it child-friendly, but not too make-believe, as an attorney can use that as a defense in saying the entire story the child has told is make-believe. This entire facility is state-of-the-art, with remote cameras, one-way mirrored windows, interview room and a viewing room where a team of professionals can view the interview as the child volunteers, by speaking and sometimes showing, what has happened. It’s so good to know that people like Kelly and the rest of her dedicated, professional staff have such passion in protecting the lives of children.
Today we made our way into West Virginia, a little behind schedule, but caught up on the mile total.

We drove back to Washington DC early this morning for the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes benefit. This great benefit, organized by Becky Lee Woman’s Support Fund and the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence was one that I did not want to miss. I not only was invited to walk, I was invited to talk to the crowd. Fathers and mothers alike, came out to support this 1st annual event. With the way the event turned out you would have thought it was its 21st year in existence.
Karma Cottman, Executive Director of the DCCADV talked with me before the event, it is so comforting to see the passion she has for her job. Lynea Woody who is with the DCCADV as well, helped to get the word out to the community for this event.
I had the honor of meeting Becky Lee, Founder of www.beckysfund.org
What an amazing and very dedicated woman. I urge you to visit her website.
**I challenged Brian Namey of the NNEDV to participate in the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event and to a race against me for the final 100 yards, unfortunately he had other obligations. Next year Brian!

I have a new anti-aerodynamic feature that I added to The Kindness Bike. My average mph pace at which I ride has steadily increased from just under 10mph to nearly 15mph over the 5 weeks since I began, now with the new feature, I may well be under 10mph once again.
The sign, “Boys Should Never Hit Girls” is highly popular; it strikes a chord with nearly everyone. I tell most people to teach boys not to hit and they have a better chance of knowing not to hit as adults. Some mention to me the same applies to girls, which it does of course.
After 5 full weeks of riding, the ride total is increasing and is nearing the one thousand mile mark. Our shorter daily rides are coming to an end and longer rides will be common as we push into Ohio later this week.

I guess that is somewhat of a misleading title for the blog today. No I didn’t take a spill, we found a Red Cross Donor Center on our ride. I think giving blood was more appealing than pedaling a bike, so we took rolled up our sleeves and took an hour-long break.
Evelyn Perry, a longtime volunteer for the Red Cross, was the perfect help to making our visit to this center, a very pleasant one. Evelyn who had so many stories about traveling the United States, had her own Harley for several years. Evelyn was also given the Clara Barton Honor Award, the Red Cross’ highest award bestowed on volunteers. Barbara Moss, a Red Cross employee became an instant cheerleader of One Million Acts Of Kindness excited to spread the word about my mission to one and all.     Today while riding, we met so many people and made some very good connections for future meetings with Children’s Advocacy Centers across the nation. The National Children’s Advocacy Center website can be visited at www.nationalcac.org