coronavirus pandemic

14-Year-Old Runs for Funds, With Dad Driving By Her Side

A Diamond Bar teen is running more than three miles every day to raise money for families hit hard by coronavirus, and her father drives alongside her every night to keep her safe.

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It's hard to keep up with 14-year-old L'Mio Edwards. She’s a straight A student, a nationally-ranked track star, and fiercely fast fundraiser.

"I’ve been running since around third grade," she said. "After running for so long I thought I might use it for something if I’m going to be stuck at home."

The soon to be Diamond Bar High School freshman is running 5K, every day, for 30 days, to raise money for families in need during coronavirus, and her father drives by her side on every run.

"I’m just a dad protecting my baby," Deon Edwards said.

As an African American, Deon Edwards says protecting his family starts with a phone call to police before every run.

He calls in to the sheriff's department, describing her tortoise top with black shorts.

"To be fair, sometimes we’ll have members of the community that will pull over and jump out the car and say, 'Hey is he harassing you?' because I’m driving next to her," Deon said. "To be clear I respect that. But just the opposite -- it doesn’t take five squad cars, some of them with guns drawn."

Edwards said he wants to bring attention to the extra measures he takes to keep his family safe.

But he does not want to take away from his daughter’s goal.

As of Monday night, she's got 21 runs down, nine more to go, picking up respect and donors along the way.

L’mio has raised more than $1,500 dollars so far for New Earth organization, which provides free groceries to families in need.

You can see her GoFundMe campaign here.

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