PHILADELPHIA — A set of twins from Sumter is wrapping up their 31-day walk to Philadelphia to raise awareness about kids in the foster care system.
Davon and Tavon Woods said they were born in Sumter and put into the foster care system.
On Dec. 1, they started with a goal to walk from the Sumter County Courthouse to Pennsylvania, drawing attention to kids in the foster care system. Now, they've made it to Philadelphia and started a final push to walk for 24 hours straight to finish their journey starting at 6 a.m.
"It's been tough, mentally, very tough, you know, getting up early in the morning," Tavon Woods said. "Starting these walks for 31 days straight mentally has been tough, physically tough, as well. But nevertheless, we've been pushing it through. Very, very cold weather as well. So that's been very challenging."
They said the hardships have been worth it, though, since they've been able to share their story, getting attention from local and national media outlets as they traveled through each city.
The twins said that in addition to raising awareness about kids in the system, they aim to inspire kids in foster care to set and achieve goals.
"Foster kids matter so much to us because we was once a product of that," Tavon said. "We got taken away at birth. And, you know, just I experienced with our adopted family, you know, it wasn't the best, and that's what led us to be a voice for kids in foster care because we know that so much kids go through the system and they just go about life. But me and Davon, we wanted to be different; we wanted to, you know, speak up for other kids and that's what we've been doing. That's all we ever wanted to do, just be a voice for the voiceless."
"The biggest goal is just to make sure that these kids are heard, to make sure that people are paying attention to the kids because no matter how much money we raise, or you know, whatever we may do, it's like, at the end of the day, it's about making sure, ensuring that these kids know that they have a voice and know that people like us, you know, walk in similar shoes as them so now they have motivation, inspiration, you know, to be able to be great in life," Davon said. "So, that's really our goal - to focus on these kids and let them know that there's people out there fighting for them."
At first, the twins planned to walk every step of their nearly 600-mile journey. However, after the first few days, the Woods said they rented a car they used to travel between cities. Once arriving at every location on their list, the twins said they got out and logged miles, sharing their story with anyone they could.
"It's like, at the end of the day, I know we had a goal set," Davon said. "But it's like, you know, even if we was walking one mile in every place we went, it's about the effort, the dedication, and the passion."
The twins plan a homecoming celebration at the Sumter YMCA at 3 p.m. on Jan. 1. They said anyone is welcome to come by and hear about their adventure in person.