Read Davon and Tavon’s backstory.
Who are you and what is your affiliation with foster care?
“My name is Davon Woods. Me and my twin brother Tavon Woods got taken away from our biological family at birth due to our biological mother battling drug addiction while pregnant with us. She never visited the hospital while pregnant; in fact, she didn’t even know she was having twins. When we were born, we weighed only two pounds and tested positive for crack. We were literally what are known as ‘crack babies.’ After we we born, we were taken out of the hospital and placed directly into foster care. Growing up for us was very hard not knowing anything about ourselves. We had so many questions that were left unanswered. At such a young age, we wanted to give up on life because we felt like we didn’t belong.
Can you tell us about your plan to walk across all 50 U.S. states? How did this come to fruition?
Our goal is to do a walk in every state. We already knocked out 3 states. Our first walk was from Statesboro, GA to Jacksonville, FL. We completed a total of 90+ miles in 4.5 days and we recently did a walk in Sumter, SC. Starting at the hospital we were born at and taken away from at birth. Our next walk is on July 21 and 22 in Columbus, OH. Our goal is to complete 20 miles in every state. Oftentimes, people aren’t willing to walk the extra mile for kids in foster care so we want to show every kid that we’re willing to walk the extra mile to be able to raise awareness and shine a light on what’s happening in the foster care system. What happens in foster care never gets the attention it deserves, so by us walking state to state, we are hoping to allow people to take foster care more seriously.
What would you like others to know or understand about foster care?
I would like others to know that these kids matter and that we all have to do better in making sure that these kids are accounted for. So many people all around the world have no idea what kids in foster care have to endure because you rarely hear about it on the news or you rarely hear anyone talking about the issues in the foster care system.
What do you hope to achieve with 50-state walk?
We want to enable people to get involved and learn more about how they can help a child in foster care. We also want to be able to draw national attention so that the world can see that good people still exist. Since we’ve been sharing our story and being bold about our movement, it has been helping thousands of people from all across the world and many people are asking how can they be a part of making a difference in the foster care system.
What can you say about the importance of kindness?
Kindness plays a big role in today’s society but it is also lacking. Acts of kindness mean a lot because you’re now becoming selfless and putting others before yourself. Especially when it come to doing the work we’re doing, it is showing the world that kindness still exists and restoring hope in a lot of lives. Kindness isn’t the words you say, but it’s turning those words into reality.
What final words would you like to share about your journey?
I would like to tell everyone to please follow us on our journey and keep us in your prayers as we continue to do what God called us to do. Me and my brother could be out in the world doing negative things, but instead we’re fighting for every innocent child in the foster care system.
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Davon and Tavon Woods. Submit your own story here.
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