Steve O鈥橞rien has accomplished more in his life than most people can dream of, but he鈥檚 far more interested in learning about you.
A former Olympic level athlete, O鈥橞rien says people often marvel how he鈥檚 remained the same over the years.
鈥淧eople say to me, 鈥榊ou never change, even after everything you鈥檝e done,鈥� and I say, 鈥榃hy should I?鈥欌��
O鈥橞rien rolled, quite literally, into North Battleford on the weekend using a wheelchair and a para bike before continuing to Denholm and returning to stay overnight in North Battleford in the Walmart parking lot.
鈥淚t鈥檚 free,鈥� he said with a beaming smile.
He might not be able to avoid people talking about him now, as he鈥檚 crossing the country to raise awareness about children in need.
鈥淚 just want to raise awareness that our kids are our future leaders,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e there to encourage them and we鈥檙e there to motivate them. I don鈥檛 care if I raise $300 or $300,000.鈥�
All money raised comes via donation, which O鈥橞rien doesn鈥檛 push on people.
鈥淚 have over 5,000 t-shirts in my van, do you know how many I鈥檝e sold? None,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 give them away because as soon as you start asking people for money they think, 鈥極h here we go, another scam.鈥欌��
As a schoolteacher, O鈥橞rien says he found the key to helping and understanding children who seem troubled.
鈥淛ust listen to them,鈥� he said emphatically. 鈥淥ther teachers would often ask me, 鈥楬ow do you get through to these kids? What are you doing different?鈥� and I just shrug and say, 鈥楯ust listen to them, that鈥檚 what they want.鈥欌��
When the idea came to cross Canada, O鈥橞rien turned to his students on ways he could make the trek. Perhaps expectedly, they were a bit unconventional.
Ranging from running to roller-blading to using a pogo stick, O鈥橞rien has now travelled more than 2,000 kilometres after beginning his journey in Victoria, B.C. April 12.
鈥淚 chose that day because that鈥檚 when my childhood hero, Terry Fox, began his marathon,鈥� O鈥橞rien said proudly. 鈥淒ec. 8 I should be getting to St. John鈥檚, Nlfd."
He wants to get professional sports teams involved in his movement, and has had the opportunity to meet with legends.
鈥淚 had the chance to meet Jean Beliveau and at first I was worried about it because I didn鈥檛 want to bother him,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut then I was told that he wanted to see me. Wow, what a tremendous man he was.鈥�
Beliveau, who passed away Dec. 2, played 1,287 NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens from 1950 through 1971.
Any and all money raised during O鈥橞rien鈥檚 journey will be turned around and sent back into the province it came from to help develop child sports programs. He hopes to get a 鈥淩elay For Youth鈥� started, where students at schools around the country will log as many kilometres as they want for one hour on a specific day, and companies will donate $1 for every kilometre they do.
His goal for each day on his cross-country tour, give or take, is to go 51 kilometres.
鈥淚 started at 50 because that鈥檚 what my age was, but now that I鈥檓 51, I guess I have to do 51 each day,鈥� he said with a laugh. 鈥淚 told my coach when I鈥檓 100 we鈥檒l have to do it again and do 100 kilometres a day!鈥�
While his method of crossing the country might be complicated, the message he wants to get across is quite simple.
鈥淭he thing I want to tell the kids is we are there to listen to you,鈥� O鈥橞rien said. 鈥淚 teach at a place in Quebec where all the kids who go there have issues at home, and some of them are tough, but when they open up, they鈥檙e teddy bears. Tell me one kid who was born mean. Every kid was born a good person. It鈥檚 what surrounds them that leads to them making bad decisions.鈥�
If you want to learn more and stay updated throughout his journey, you can find it on Facebook by searching Steve O'Brien Foundation.
