Man To Walk From California To Massachusetts For Abuse Victims

DANA POINT, CA — A Sedona, Arizona man is walking from California to Boston, asking no more from you than a penny to help build a safe house for abused children and their pets. Michael "Cappi" Capozzoli is trekking across America to draw attention to his "Just A Penny Please" foundation.

Cappi's journey will take him through 10 states, from Dana Point on the golden coast of California to Boston, Mass. straight to the gates of Fenway Park. If his calculations are correct, he'll get there just in time for his 67th birthday, in late September of 2018. Cappi even tossed his hat in the ring to throw the first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game. A man can dream, but Cappi just might have the chops to make his dreams a reality.

39 years ago Cappi volunteered at a safe house and witnessed a 2-year-old child who had suffered abuse at the hands of someone who should have protected her. Having never witnessed abuse himself, either as a child or a parent, he was immediately moved.

"I made a commitment to my maker that I would do something about it if I could," Cappi told those present at the Jan. 31 Dana Point Monarch Beach Sunrise Rotary Breakfast. "I've had a blessed life and it's time to pay it back."

A former race walker who participated in the 2013 senior Olympics, Cappi is stepping up to raise $250,000 to build the safe house he is planning. That's a total of 25-million pennies he's hoping for, and he's already received 2-million pennies to start his journey.

Cappi isn't interested in asking for specific donation amounts. At his sunrise rotary breakfast in Dana Point on Groundhog Day, his Just A Penny Please Nonprofit organization raised more than $210 dollars.

Cappi started his journey on Feb. 1, leaving Dana Point through Coto De Caza. The first stretch of his hike took him along the Ortega Highway. "I kept thinking I'd reached the summit," he said on social media. "Lake Elsinore at the bottom was a welcome sight."

He hopes to cover about 13 to 16 miles a day. He'll sleep in his camper trailer, driven by a friend along the way, and is seeking assistance with overnight parking, daily. He has started with one pair of running shoes, but expects he'll need more somewhere along the line.

"People are most benevolent, I've found," Cappi said. A GoFundMe campaign he is running has already raised $22,000 of the $250,000 goal.

By Sunday, Feb. 4, he made it 16 miles, to Banning, Calif.

"I'll be stopping at minor league baseball parks along the way, and some professional parks as well," Cappi told an interviewer from the Verde Valley Experience in November. "Baseball is going after domestic violence in a big way."

This journey is one of faith and trust, and has a little bit of "Forest Gump" to it, he has told his fans over social media. Whenever he stops, he shares with those he meets his story, and always picks up the pennies he finds.

"Family in America is broken, it's fractured," Cappi said. "One out of three have abuse in their lives." If he can do something to aid those in crisis, along with their pets, he feels called to do so.

"Most shelters don't accept pets, 40-percent of the abuse situation, an abuser threatens the pets," Cappi said. "As of now, there is not a pet friendly shelter in Northern Arizona."

Of the many miles ahead, Cappi has said he is excited, though a little afraid of the unknown. His first leg has taken him from Dana Point to Banning, near Palm Springs. Next, from Palm Springs to Phoenix. Then, he will cross Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and ultimately Boston, Massachusetts, straight to Fenway Park. By his estimates, it will take him until September to reach New England. The only bad weather he is expecting is Northern Arizona.

Cappi has a pace car towing his high-low travel trailer. One friend is towing the trailer through California, another through Arizona. After that, he plans to stop at police stations, fire stations, he's left the remainder up to the universe.

Follow Cappi at www.JustAPennyPlease.org

Donate at: https://www.gofundme.com/gofun...

Go Fund Me courtesy photos.