Reporter staff

Auburn’s Pacin’ Parson is lacing up his shoes for another walk for charity.

Don Stevenson plans to cover 1,000 miles on local sidewalks and trails – from March to May – to raise awareness and money for victims of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He is dedicated the walk to a man afflicted with the disease.

The 82-year-old ultra-marathon walker kicks off the journey at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 10 from the ALS Evergreen Chapter, 19226 66th Ave., Suite L-105, Kent.

Stevenson, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and retired pastor, teacher, truck driver and firefighter, has walked more than 55,000 miles to raise awareness and funds for many charities since 1998.

He has covered 7,600 miles for Alzheimer’s; 20,000 miles for Multiple Sclerosis; 13,000 miles for Huntington’s disease; 2,400 miles for the American Cancer Society; climbed Mount Rainier for the American Lung Association; walked 730 miles for Spina Bifida; and 2,086 miles for blind and special needs kids.

Stevenson most recently finished a 300-mile trip around Auburn to raise $10,000 for the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center. He also completed two 1,000-mile walks and a 500-mile trek in Washington state for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA),

He made national news when he began a 3,000-mile journey from Auburn to the PHA headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., in 2015, just shy of his 80th birthday.

To learn more or to donate to the cause, visit alsa.org.