The idea of a Bakersfield man riding a bike across the country for charity might be considered unusual if that man weren’t Jeremy Staat.

In February, Staat and fellow veteran, Wesley Leon Barrientos will ride from the Wall of Valor in Bakersfield to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

The purpose of the cross-country trip is to bring attention to veteran issues and childhood obesity.

The men hope to visit as many venues as possible along the way to talk about the ride.

Staat also wants to close the generation gap between soldiers.

“I thought, ‘What can we do to unite these two walls?’” said Staat about the planning process for the ride.

If you’ve never heard of Staat, then you’re among the minority.

The Bakersfield native has had successful careers in both the NFL and the military. He now spends most of his time working locally with veteran causes.

“Our rights are given to us by vets,” said Staat.

The former Marine started the Jeremy Staat Foundation in June 2011, after taking part in a presentation where the hosting school paid a large amount of money to have a speaker. He didn’t think it was right for funds to be taken away from schools that desperately need them.

“I would do this for free,” said Staat, remembering that day.

The organization adopted the motto, “To bring living history to the classroom by offering life experiences to our youth through a veteran speaking board without taking away needed financial resources from our lacking educational system.”

He makes it clear that the focus should be put on the children and not him.

“It has nothing to do with me,” he said. “It’s all about the kids.”

In 2011 alone, the Jeremy Staat Foundation raised over $560,000 for the Kern County Wall of Valor.

The wall is located on Truxtun Avenue, and consists of several glass panels that list the names of over 1,000 Kern County residents who have been killed in battle.

“These memorials are living memorials because we continue to add names,” said Staat, regarding the wall.

But despite all of the work he’s doing these days, Staat still puts family first.

“At the end of the day, I don’t care how big my house is or how much money I have in the bank. It’s the relationships that matter.”