On October 6th, 1723, a seventeen-year-old arrived in Philadelphia after a roughly 300-mile journey from Boston. He was bound to become the city's most influential leader. Over the course of his life in his adopted home, he founded the city’s first fire station, the nation’s first public library, and an academy that would become a globally esteemed university. Later in his life, he would become the nation’s first postmaster general, the governor of Pennsylvania, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The man, as you can likely deduce by now, was none other than the one-hundred-dollar founding father: Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin’s 300-mile journey consisted of delayed, lengthy boat passages and many miles on foot - namely, an approximately fifty-mile trek across New Jersey.
Max Steinberg, my cousin, is on the autism spectrum. Walking alongside Max is akin to embarking on a journey of unmatched joy and dedication. Each step serves as a testament to his exceptional endurance, meeting the miles that stretch before him with an indefatigable spirit. Max embodies a rare breed of grit and infectious energy for walking that makes his presence an inspiration to those fortunate enough to share a walk, and therefore a journey, with him.
Between October 3rd-6th, 2023, with Max’s passion for walking and inspiring those around him, we want to celebrate the tricentennial of Benjamin Franklin’s arrival into the city where he would leave an eternal mark. Through walking, we want to commemorate the journey of the man who indelibly shaped the city, celebrate the abilities of those on the autism spectrum, and raise funds for the Eagles Autism Foundation - an organization that embodies Philadelphia through Franklin’s ideal that “the good we can do together exceeds the good we can do individually.” The Eagles Autism Foundation takes action by giving every penny they raise to impactful autism research and effective autism care.
We will recreate Franklin’s fifty-mile walk across New Jersey and into Philadelphia over the course of a three-day period, arriving in Philadelphia on the same day Franklin arrived 300 years prior: October 6th, 2023.
With the Eagles Autism Foundation as our beneficiary, Max, his father Ken, and I believe we can appropriately mark this historic milestone and prove the limitless abilities of those on the autism spectrum. We need your help, and your corporations' (tax-deductible) donations, to make this event meaningful.
Sincerely,
Alex Greenberg
