Walking For A Cause: MB School Teacher Nears $1,000 Goal

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Some walks she's power walking, others she slows her pace to walk with her mom or dad. On Wednesday morning, Manhattan Beach residents Madeline Taylor and Hannah Perch, a "best friend" since second grade at Grand View Elementary School, power walked their way from Taylor's home near Sand Dune Park to the Manhattan Beach Pier. From there, the duo would walk The Strand. Indeed, they had a gorgeous day to be outdoors walking.

Taylor is walking this week to raise money for the Equal Justice Initiative, an organization she believes is often accidentally overlooked and one she says is doing great work in criminal justice reform, racial justice and public education. Just last month, EJI was the "People’s Voice Winner for the Best Nonprofit Website in the 24th Annual Webby Awards, which are considered the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times. The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

Wearing a T-shirt reading "Why be racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic when you could be quiet," a hat that made clear her feelings on President Donald Trump, and a mask reading "Don't Drink Bleach," Taylor told MB Patch she has lupus and couldn't attend any of the crowded protests that have taken place since George Floyd's death in Minneapolis on Memorial Day. But the fit 23-year-old decided she could contribute by walking to raise funds for EJI.

"I have a few different routes I take," she said. "During the week, I like to walk along The Strand [during the week] because there’s less people, but I go wherever there’s the least amount of traffic. Other times I go with a destination in mind— Paradise Bowls to pick up a quick breakfast, MB Library to return a book. But I think it’ll be a 'wherever the wind carries me' type of thing.

"I always wear a mask. If I’m with friends, we’ll stop and they’ll go into the business for me in an attempt to lower my risk. I plan to break up my walks, do maybe five miles in the morning, two miles or so midday, two miles or so late afternoon. I usually finish my miles by 5."

As of Wednesday, the third day of her walk-a-thon fundraiser, Taylor had raised $886, gaining ground on her $1,000 goal. Her fundraising walk continues through Sunday, June 21. Pledges can be made online until midnight June 21.

Taylor told Patch that "before the world shut down I was an elementary school English teacher in Madrid. I've called Manhattan Beach home for my whole life but I went to college in St. Paul, MN, studied abroad in Sevilla, and lived for a bit in Madrid!" She is looking for work, she added.

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