100-year-old vet embarks on walk for homeless veterans
Tom Hennessy, a retired Air Force veteran and World War II Spitfire pilot was looking for a cause to mark his 100th birthday in May.
“I was reading a magazine two months ago, and it was about homeless veterans. And the very last line said, and so we've got to do something,” Hennessy said during a break from the charity kick off. “I said to Joy, my partner, ‘Joy, I got it. Now I know what I can do for 100 years is I can go and do a walk and raise money for homeless veterans.’”
Hennessy exercises daily and started with a goal of 100km, but after quickly reaching that goal, he checked in with his friends at the legion and told them he was going to up the goal to 100 miles (160km), and plans to finish his journey on Canada day.
On Tuesday, he logged some of those kilometers while looping around Victoria Park, joined alongside London North Centre NDP MPP Terence Kernaghan, London Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan and other members of the public.
WWII Air Force veteran Tom Hennessy begins his walk around Victoria Park alongside London North Centre NDP MPP Terence Kernaghan, London Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan, and other members of the public on on June 14, 2022. Hennessy is raising money for homeless veterans. (Marek Sutherland/CTV News London)
“It's about 95 miles now. The last walk around here [Victoria Park] on Friday of Canada Day that will put it all into the 100. So we want to bag it on that day,” Hennessy said.
The fundraiser has already raised $12,000 as of Tuesday morning, before the official start of the campaign.
But there is no specific goal he would like to reach other than getting as much help for homeless Veterans as possible.
To learn more and to donate to Hennessy’s cause, you can visit his GoFundMe page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberals must now sell a budget they say will help younger Canadians catch up
It's now up to the federal Liberal government to sell a spending plan it says will help younger Canadians catch up to their elders.
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
Stretching isn't always the answer for pain and muscle tension
For years, conventional wisdom in fitness culture has promoted the belief that stretching to become more flexible leads to better movement and injury prevention.
Canada's health-care crisis was 'decades in the making,' says CMA
The strain placed on Canadian health care during the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating, and the top official of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is warning that improving the system will be a 'slow process' requiring sustained investment.
British actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against publisher of the Sun: court documents
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of The Sun tabloid newspaper over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, his lawyer said in court documents on Wednesday.
Trio found guilty of mischief for roles in 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta.
Three men accused by the Crown of helping lead and coordinate the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., in 2022 have been found guilty of mischief.
500 Newfoundlanders wound up on the same cruise and it turned into a rocking kitchen party
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
Teen hockey players arrested for sexual assault following hazing incident: Manitoba RCMP
Three teenagers were arrested in connection with a pair of alleged hazing incidents on a Manitoba hockey team, police say.
From housing initiatives to a disability benefit, how the federal budget impacts you
From plans to boost new housing stock, encourage small businesses, and increase taxes on Canada’s top-earners, CTVNews.ca has sifted through the 416-page budget to find out what will make the biggest difference to your pocketbook.