This is my good friend Bobby Genese. He’s walking across the United States to raise money for needy families of autistic children, and to help increase public awareness of this rapidly advancing threat. One in every 150 children is born with autism, a number which has been growing by about 10-17% annually; faster than any other developmental disability. Bobby decided to walk 3,000 miles in memory of Elias Tembenis, the child of a friend, who died as the result of a seizure at the age of seven. He started out at the Golden Gate Bridge with his friend Robert, “walked around 300 miles through the golden hills of California along the American Discovery Trail,” followed by approximately 1,000 miles of desert in the middle of June. If you’d like to read more about Bobby and the Walk for Elias, or to make a donation to the National Autism Association, please click here. He’s raised $50,000 so far, and is well on his way to breaking a hundred. Bobby’s from Worcester, and he’s one of the most benevolent people I’ve known. In addition to raising $85,000 for charity in an exhibition against three-time world champion Jose Antonio Rivera, he’ll be donating one of his kidneys to a sick friend, a Vietnam veteran, when he returns from his trip. He’s been featured on MSNBC and local news stations throughout the country, met with the first lady of Nevada, and hopes to visit with the new president after November. He’s had a pretty crazy trip—stories of betrayal, half-broken video cameras, and hard partying Mormons. There will be some video available here, and you can download a PDF with relevant links to send to your friends by clicking here. You rock, Bobby!