Photo courtesy of Birmingham Ed.
Walter Carr, right, shakes hands with Darion Hall, the first recipient of an award named in his honor. Carr made national news in 2018 for walking 20 miles to a job site in the middle of the night after his car broke down.
One year ago, Walter Carr made national headlines for taking an unconventional route to work.
Carr, now 21, walked 20 miles in the middle of the night in July 2018 when his car broke down on the way to his first move with Bellhops, which offers moving services similar to how Uber provides ride services.
Carr was walking from his home in Homewood to Pelham to move the Laney family, who was moving to the Meadowbrook area. Arriving early after being helped by officers from the Pelham Police Department, Carr was told by the family to take a nap, but instead, he got started with work after walking for about seven hours.
“My heart just sank,” Jennifer Laney said at the time. “What he had endured just to be there to help me with my move.”
Because of Carr’s effort, Bellhops CEO Luke Marklin surprised him with the gift of Marklin’s family car, a 2014 Ford Escape.
“It’s in much better hands with you than it is with me, and I couldn’t think of a better way to part ways with this or to put it to better use,” Marklin told Carr.
Carr received widespread media attention and began taking speaking engagements after his story went viral.
“It was unbelievable,” Carr said. “I felt like it was a dream, like I’d wake up sooner or later. It was an unbelievable experience.
“I didn’t think all of that would come from me walking; I was just trying to get to a job,” Carr said.
In the year after he gained attention, Carr has graduated from Lawson State Community College with an associate’s degree in science and has spoken at various events and school engagements. He’s also worked with the Birmingham Education Foundation and presented them a $25,000 check, taken from GoFundMe donations that totaled almost $100,000, in August 2018.
Carr said he’s passionate about working with schools and influencing kids. He said he wants to show them that someone does care. He said Birmingham Ed helped him when he was younger and he wants others to have that same chance. The group, he said, conducts mock interviews and offers job shadowing opportunities, among other things.
“I would like to give back to my community to help out,” Carr said. “... I wanted to make a difference from that end and show them that I’m still here. … I’m not going to forget where I came from.”
Carr said he wants to teach children that they can only be defeated if they it happen, as well as the importance of not giving up.
“The world’s going to be hard,” Carr said. “It’s like a piece of gum: it chews us and spits us out five seconds later, so you always have to be ready, stay on your toes. Never give up.”
In late May, Carr was on hand to present the first-ever Walter Carr Award, given by the Birmingham Education Foundation to Birmingham City Schools senior Darion Hall. The award included a $2,500 scholarship.
“Walter Carr is the gift that keeps on giving, not only in the inspiration he provides to millions of people, but now formally with the launch of the Walter Carr Award to ensure that we honor a Birmingham City School student who exhibits great character every single year in Walter’s name,” said J.W. Carpenter, executive director of the foundation. “We are proud at Ed to be a small part of his amazing story, and look forward to continuing that partnership for years to come.”
Carr is still working with Bellhops and recently worked at UAB in patient transport. He also took a ministry trip to Fort Smith, Arkansas.
He’s also still in touch with the Laneys, keeping up with Jennifer’s sons and meeting with them regularly. This fall, Carr plans on attending Alabama State University and hopes one day to go to physical therapy school or to teach physical education.
And while the Ford Escape is doing great, Carr said he hasn’t stopped walking completely.
“I do it here and there,” Carr said with a smile.
