Long Beach superhero spreads cheer during cross-country trek

What started arsenic an Instagram station has led to a coast-to-coast escapade for 2 men — who unrecorded 2,019 miles apart.

Yuri Williams and Rodney Smith Jr. are preparing for their 3rd Hand of Hope tour, wherever they volition effort to sojourn each 50 states successful little than a month.

The 17,000-mile travel volition instrumentality spot successful Smith’s cargo van, with the extremity of helping families with peculiar needs children and/or children with terminal illnesses, radical who are stateless and animals successful shelters. The circuit began connected Friday, Nov. 26, successful Kentucky and is acceptable to reason Dec. 20 successful Hawaii.

The effort stems from the symptom and grief Williams endured aft his mother’s death.

Williams said helium had a five-year bout of slump aft his mother, Lynda Hubbard, died aft an eight-year conflict with cancer. Williams, who works with mentally sick younker successful the Orange County Probation Department, had been surviving successful his mother’s Long Beach location — but the memories of her were overwhelming.

“I ne'er knew what slump was until my ma died,” helium said. “I decided it was clip to determination connected due to the fact that I couldn’t unrecorded similar this anymore. I had to determination out.”

So 5 years ago, Williams moved to Signal Hill.

During that time, helium came up with an thought that would let him to assistance the underserved. Williams ever considered himself a giving person, helium said, acknowledgment to the illustration acceptable by his mother.

Spider-Man Yuri Williams gives a stateless idiosyncratic a container of clothing. (Courtesy Yuri Williams)

“My thought was to provender the elderly, children, veterans and the homeless,” Williams said, “and besides sojourn sick children, dressed arsenic Spider-Man.”

The archetypal fewer efforts worked, and that’s erstwhile the thought of starting a nonprofit ruminated successful his head. In 2017, AFutureSuperHero.org was born.

After scrolling done assorted societal media sites, Williams decided to constitute his archetypal station connected Instagram to fto radical cognize what helium was doing.

It was a elemental message:

“This is maine successful a Spider-Man costume,” helium wrote alongside the photo, “giving back.”

The archetypal idiosyncratic who responded to the post, Williams said, was Tommy Norman, a constabulary serviceman successful North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Norman, who does assemblage enactment successful his city, past introduced Williams to Rodney Smith Jr., who lives successful Huntsville, Alabama.

Smith is the laminitis of Raising Men and Women Lawn Care Services. He challenges young radical to unpaid to chopped lawns for elders, those with disabilities and single-parent families. Smith has traveled 12 times to each 50 states — mowing lawns for free.

“In 2015, I saw an aged antheral struggling successful Huntsville and I pulled implicit and helped him mow his lawn,” Smith said. “I did a societal media station that said I volition assistance you mow your lawn. Now, 3,000 kids help.”

After Williams created his AFutureSuperHero.org site, helium reached retired to Smith. They met for luncheon and agreed to collaborate connected thing peculiar for children.

“I saw that Rodney was mowing lawns,” Williams said, “and I was dressing up similar a ace leader and going to Miller Children’s Hospital.”

They some person akin philosophies connected the powerfulness of helping others.

“Giving is simply a mode of beingness for us,” Smith said, “and we are encouraging others to bash acts of kindness.”

Williams, meanwhile, said he’s going to constitute a publication called “Instagram Saved My Life.”

“I reached retired to Rod,” helium said, “and present we speech each different time astir however we tin assistance each other.”

After successfully completing the cross-country Hand of Hope circuit successful 2018 and 2019, the men had to instrumentality past twelvemonth disconnected due to the fact that of the coronavirus pandemic.

The roadworthy travel whitethorn person been canceled — but not the giving.

“I couldn’t sojourn kids successful hospital, truthful I would bash FaceTime and inactive get dressed up,” Williams said. “I inactive visited radical and dropped things disconnected astatine their house. I market shopped for the elderly.

I told Rod we enactment our emotion connected the line,” helium added. “The request is ever going to beryllium there.”

Both men agreed the past 2 years person been hard for families with children who person life-threatening illnesses. But, Smith said, helium and Williams are hoping to bring a spot of Christmas cheer to the kids this twelvemonth — nary substance what authorities they unrecorded in.

“I volition beryllium Santa’s helper and Yuri volition beryllium dressed arsenic Santalorian,” Smith said, with Williams’ costume a play connected the main quality from Disney+ amusement “The Mandalorian.” “A batch of families person been deed hard financially. So galore individuals close adjacent america could usage a manus of anticipation close now.”

There is simply a crushed their travel began successful Kentucky — Louisville to beryllium exact. The men had befriended a 10-year-old determination named David, who had cancer.

Smith saw David successful September. But the youngster died precocious and so, successful his honor, the circuit volition statesman successful his hometown.

From Louisville, the men volition traverse the confederate portion of the state earlier heading westbound and past looping backmost into the Midwest and, finally, eastward.

Smith had estimated the outgo of the cross-country trek to beryllium successful the scope of $17,000, but skyrocketing state prices person thrown things retired of whack. They person a Go Fund Me leafage — gofundme.com/f/50statestour3  — that, Smith said, helium hopes radical volition visit.

The extremity is to sojourn aggregate states successful 1 day, but it each depends connected the sizes of the states.

“So galore radical request assistance close now,” Williams said. “We usually halt successful 1 oregon 2 cities per state, but it’s each astir making memories for those parents, due to the fact that it mightiness beryllium their child’s past Christmas.

“And so,” helium added, “if that means visiting 1 oregon 2 other cities, we volition bash it.”

Information connected however to help: AFutureSuperHero.org. To travel the journey, spell to the @FutureSuperHero Instagram page. Smith’s lawncare leafage is WeAreRaisingMen.com.

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