By Carmen Rodgers
Elmore Autauga News
Sgt. Push-Up, a decorated Iraq war veteran whose real name is Patrick Parker travels the country on a mission to help children. His mission began as a campaign to stop childhood hunger. Today, his mission is multifaceted. Sgt. Pushups combats childhood hunger and bullying.
According to Sgt. Pushups, he doesn’t have one child to care for, he cares for every child in America. And it’s his mission to see that they are fed, in good spirits, and have a strong understanding of service to others and the country they call home.
To start the campaign, Sgt. Pushups gave up something he held very dear.
“I started this by selling my Mustang. I sold my Mustang, and I started walking and taking public transportation to Maryland, and made the news there. And they were like, Dude, you are crazy. You don’t have children, no, I have 75 million children,” he explained.
After he sold the Mustang, Sgt. Pushups began taking public transportation and engaged in physical challenges like push-ups and hopscotch to raise awareness and funds.
“So, what I would do is, meet police officers and we would do pushups, jumping jacks, and then I have a portable hopscotch map, so we do hopscotch and double Dutch,” he said.
During one of those physical challenges, he caught the attention of a manager of a Chick-fil-A in Maryland. After seeing Sgt. Pushup’s act of kindness, the manager met him with a challenge of his own.
“The manager from Chick-fil-A was like, ‘that’s kind of nice,” Sgt Pushups explained. “He asked me, ‘Why would you do that?’ I said, ‘Well, I would want someone to do it for me. So then he said, ‘I tell you what, I want to give you a chicken sandwich for every 10 pushups you do.’ I was feeling really good. In three hours, I did 2300.”
He didn’t stop there. He took those chicken sandwiches and used them as an incentive for a local food drive, giving them to everyone who donated to the food pantry.
Sgt. Pushups faced intense challenges during his military service, but says none compare to his current mission—battling childhood hunger and bullying across the country.
“I did 1000 pushups in every city,” he explained. “All the money donated online went to the food bank in Utah. I raised over a million meals. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, harder than being in the war in Iraq.”
Sgt. Pushups also hands out his books and American flags to children while he travels the United States spreading awareness for his mission, all while emphasizing America’s love for them.
Sgt. Pushup Comes to the Rescue, is a comic workbook that serves as an engaging learning tool that aims to help children recognize the signs of bullying, better communicate with their parents about it, and empower families with safe, effective strategies to stop bullying.
To create a more personal touch, Sgt. Pushups had supporters from around the country sign the book and flag.
“It’s letting them know that America loves them,” he said. “The flag has been signed by different people, letting them know that America loves them. So when they hang this on their wall, they’ll see that all these people love them.”
Along the way, he has met notable figures, including coaches and celebrities, and has received recognition from governors and mayors for his efforts to stop childhood hunger and bullying.
“I’ve met so many people over the years. Joe Gibbs, Coach Harborough, Coach Saban, Naomi Campbell, and I met Muhammad Ali’s wife at a bullying event together,” he said.
To date, Sgt. Pushups has fed over a million meals to children through various campaigns and initiatives.
This year, his focus has shifted to childhood bullying and the effects it has on young people today.
“My goal this year is 3,000,069 pushups because 3069 kids attempt suicide every day,” he explained.
He does his best to make his mission fun. Sgt. Pushups is a fan of Johnny Cash and often listens to the late singer’s tunes during a physical challenge. He also likes to dress like the Man in Black did.
“90% of the time you’ll hear Johnny Cash playing in the background when I’m doing my pushups. Most time I wear black because he wore black,” he said.
Sgt. Pushups also aims to motivate children to give back to their country. Hoping that one day, they will join the service just like he did as a young adult.
“If we don’t take care of the children, then there will not be a military,” he said. “If you notice, we have never had numbers this low.”
While Sgt. Pushups spent much of his childhood in Maryland, he has deep roots in Autauga County and frequently returns to the area. He is heading back to Maryland now but will return this summer to continue his mission to help young people overcome childhood obstacles.
For more information, visit online at www.sgtpushup.com, on Instagram at www.instagram.com/sgtpushup, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sgtpushup, or Twitter at www.twitter.com/sgtpushup1.
