San Mateo natives finish walk across America for charity

“Drew and I were two people who believed in ourselves more than anybody, believed in what we were capable of,” Grele said. “What we didn’t know was how amazing the response would be, how many kind people we met in person, as well as all the support on the internet. It almost doesn’t feel real.” 

Inspiration struck during a senior year English class at Aragon High School, Grele said, when teacher Vince Bravo told the class about a woman who walked across America. 

“It imprinted itself in my brain,” he said. “I couldn’t get it out. I was obsessed.” 

Across 12 states and 3,604 miles walked, Grele and Diaz shared the mission of Convoy of Hope with strangers both in-person and online, raising money and awareness for the charity that has provided on-the-ground relief in disaster situations from the L.A. wildfires to Texas flooding. 

“We walked every single step,” Diaz said. “We did not miss a single mile.” 

While walking across a small town in Kansas wrecked by a tornado, a man whose own home had recently been destroyed pulled over, recognizing the pair from their videos. Despite Grele and Diaz’s assurances that he didn’t need to donate, the man immediately put $200 toward Convoy of Hope. 

“He said, ‘No, I want to do it, because people were so generous and helped me out in my time of need, and I want to pay it forward,’” Grele said. 

It was interactions like these that kept the pair going through extreme weather, long 100-mile stretches of road, sickness and injury, they said. Grele and Diaz camped anywhere they could find — including baseball fields and under bridges — for nearly the entire first half of the journey. 

During the second half, they received car support from advocates for several weeks and were occasionally welcomed into strangers’ homes for the night, though their newfound camping expertise continued to come in handy. 

“The whole walk was challenging. We started off not really knowing anything about hiking, camping, long-distance travel,” Diaz said. “We overcame so much adversity, sickness, injury, a little bit of everything. We’ve proven to ourselves and people, no matter what comes in life, there’s always a way out.” 

For now, the pair is enjoying home-cooked meals, favorite San Mateo restaurants and the luxury of their own beds — but they don’t expect to stay put for too long. 

“We’re definitely going to take some time off, time to sleep and chill for a bit with our families, and get ready for the next adventure,” Grele said.