PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — A pair of twins hope to raise awareness for abuse of kids in foster care by walking in all 50 states.
Twins Davon and Tavon Woods are giving a whole new meaning to the term walking with a purpose. The two brothers, originally from Sumter, South Carolina, say the growing up in the foster care system caused them heartaches and pain. They’ve chosen to change that experience into a positive one by being a blessing to others, one step at a time.
“Growing up, it was definitely hard not knowing anything about ourselves for 17 years of our life,” said Davon. “Not knowing where we was from, not knowing if we if our parents were still alive, not knowing why we was placed in the system.”
For 31 Days, the twins will walk about 20 miles in states along the east coast to spread awareness about abuse in the foster care system and help teens who age out of the system.
Their journey started in Sumter, at the hospital where the twins were taken after birth. Since the beginning of the month, the two have made their way along East Coast. Today marked day 12 of their trek and the twins took to the streets of Petersburg, walking about 10 miles in total.
The conversation about issues in the foster care system is nothing new for Virginia. According to the Virginia Department of Social Services, there are more than 5,000 kids in the foster care system in Virginia. Davon and Tavon say it’s these lives that they hope to impact.
“That’s most definitely our determination and our hope,” said Davon. “These kids and people like us, even adults that have been in foster care and just to see the support, they definitely motivate us each and every day.”
Their short term goal is to open a transitional home for kids who are aging out of the foster care system. In the future, hope to open a foster care facility of their own.
The two plan to continue their journey in Richmond tomorrow and finish in Philadelphia where they plan to walk for 24 hours.
“All we ever wanted to do was just raise awareness, that’s what we tell people. We just wanted to share our story in hopes to inspire kids all over the world and it’s been doing just that,” said Tavon.
