GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — One West Michigan man is using his passion to support the military and our first responders.
Matt Garbarino will be running 40 miles next month, and while he may be a little sore when he wakes up, he hopes this simple act will trigger inspiration for other people.
“Whatever pain I have, is going to go away, I the next day, I'll recover, and each week, I'll get better. But the families who've lost somebody, that pain never goes away,“ said Garbarino.
Garbarino will be running for Folds of Honor, a charity created right here in Grand Rapids. It focuses on supporting families who've lost officers or military members in the line of duty or are disabled raise money for scholarships. And this isn’t the first time he’s challenged himself to support a greater cause.
“In 2018 and 2019. I ran across the state of Michigan, really to raise awareness for fallen police officers and their families," said Garbarino.
It’s been nearly 5 years since Garbarino has made a trek this long but he said the passion reignited because of his son.
“My son is right now, Navy ROTC at Purdue University It's starting to give me a new connection to the military," said Garbarino, "You start getting a perspective that there's a lot of sacrifice, because the time away from family, and the risk of doing it, you know, being deployed, obviously.”
Garbarino said he understands firsthand how much it costs to support a child in college.
"If you lost a parent or you lost a family member that's helping with that. I can't imagine how difficult that would be," said Garbarino.
So he is stepping up to support those who may be in difficult situations.
“I'm doing it for a reason. I'm doing it for a purpose. People that serve do the same thing. And not everyone sees what they're doing. And it's making a difference in, you know, in our communities,” said Garbarino.
There’s an opportunity for others in the community to get involved as well. The last nine miles of his run will be open to the public, from Aquinas College to Notos around 2:30pm.
“I would love the community to come out on a cold day and if they want to run part of it or all of it with me. I would love to see that,” said Garbarino.
The run will take place February 23rd. You can find more information on the run here.
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