INPERSON
One Step
at a Time
Fox Chapel’s Jared
Reichbaum walks across
America for Bone Marrow
Registry awareness.
BY JENNIFER BROZAK
T
ypically, when someone wants to
raise awareness for a charity, he or
she might host a fundraising event or
launch an online campaign.
Fox Chapel native Jared Reichbaum
decided to trek across the country.
In April of last year, Reichbaum, a 2004
graduate of Fox Chapel High School, started
on a seven-month walk across the United
States to bring awareness to the need for
bone marrow donations — and to check an
item off his bucket list. He partnered with
the nonprofit organization Be the Match,
which is operated by the National Marrow
Donor Program.
“Less than 3 percent of people in this
country are registered as bone marrow
donors,” says Reichbaum. “And a thousand
people die every year because they can’t find
a match. I want to help change that.”
Reichbaum, 29, is a travel photographer
and filmmaker, and has worked as a freelance
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deckhand in the yachting industry. He was
inspired to raise awareness for Be the Match
after his friend and mentor, Joselyn Miller,
received a bone marrow transplant for a rare
blood disease.
“She was told that she only had a few
months to live,” he says. “The bone marrow
transplant saved her life.” Miller has since
made a full recovery.
Reichbaum, the son of Arnie and Debra
Reichbaum of Fox Chapel, began his
journey (which he dubbed “Walking Across
Amarrowca”) on Apr. 14, 2015, in Atlantic
City, N.J. He ended it on Nov. 14, 2015,
by leaping into the Pacific Ocean in San
Francisco. Along the way, he collected swabs
from nearly 600 donors and entered them
into the national bone marrow registry.
“Only one out of every 540 donors will be
a match for someone,” Reichbaum explains.
“This is why it’s so important that we raise
awareness.”
Each day, Reichbaum logged about 25
miles. He walked for about 10 to 12 hours
a day, from sunrise to sunset, through
extreme heat, freezing cold temperatures,
thunder and lightning storms and torrential
downpours. Along the way, he was nearly
attacked by dogs and a herd of deer, and
routinely encountered snakes and packs
of coyotes and foxes. The worst danger,
however, was the traffic.
“There were times when I’d be walking
along a road with no shoulder, and a car
would be coming around a bend and not see
me,” he says. “It was scary at times.”
He was nearly hit several times by texting
drivers who weren’t paying attention to the
road, and was pelted with debris kicked up
from passing semi-trailer trucks.
He used a jogging stroller, garnished
with American flags, to haul his survival
gear, including his tent, sleeping bag,
extra clothing, a flashlight, spare tires and