Nancy Zyburt goes on a 56th birthday year expedition

By Lisa Carolin

Nancy Zyburt came up with a unique, creative and generous way to spend her 56th birthday and the year that followed – she went on a road trip to 50 states, Washington, D.C. and five U.S. territories.

She called it her “Give Back to America” road trip, and she spent one week in each place.

Zyburt and her dog, a 7-year-old chocolate Lab named Tula, left in August 2012, and the two of them walked eight miles a day/56 miles a week. Zyburt made a $56 donation to a good cause every single day.

Her journey culminated last week in her hometown of Chelsea, where she walked her final two-and-a-half miles. Zyburt chose Faith in Action as one of the recipients of her final donations along with the Ballet Chelsea.

“We are humbled and awed at the scope of the adventure and commitment, and just so honored to be a part of it,” said Nancy Paul, director of Faith in Action, whose board asked Zyburt to come and speak to them about her experience.

“I knew this was a good time in my life to take a year to either do some volunteer work or give back in some other fashion,” said Zyburt.

Zyburt has lived in Chelsea for 35 years and all three of her daughters graduated from Chelsea HIgh School.

In 1997, she became the owner and manager of Dance Arts of Chelsea dance studio, where her daughters had taken lessons. Fast forward to 2012 when she sold the business and her youngest daughter graduated from college. That’s when Zyburt made the decision to go on her journey.

She and Tula left on Zyburt’s 56th birthday, Aug. 31, 2012.

“My plans were to visit the New England States in the fall, work my way down the eastern seaboard and be in the southern states during the winter,” said Zybert. “I had plane reservations for the Pacific territories for mid-January through mid-February, and those were the only dates cast in stone.”

She had some close calls along the way, though, like when she left the coast of Rhode Island the day before Hurricane Sandy struck, and when she altered her route in Idaho due to wildfires. There were some well-timed visits too, like getting to spend Thanksgiving with her dad in South Dakota, and getting her daughter and mom to join her in Georgia for Christmas.

“My top priority was making a donation every day for a total of seven per state,” said Zyburt, whose donations included food pantries, women’s shelters, Ronald McDonald Houses, Habitat for Humanity and military-related donations like those to veterans’ homes and care packages overseas.

“I met a lot of wonderful people, and would often get a little tour of whatever facility I was at,” she said.

Zyburt says that her dog, Tula, was a wonderful travel buddy, who is still healing from a bout with Lyme disease along the way. They would often break up their 8-mile daily walks into segments that included neighborhoods and parks.

Zyburt ate a lot of peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and camped out when she could as well as staying with family, friends, and at inexpensive motels.

“It’s refreshing to know how many good people are out there,” said Zyburt. “We hear so many negative things and bad stories in the news, but the communities all around the country are full of people helping other people. We live in a very diverse country, and I was fortunate to be able to see and walk through so many places off the beaten path.”

She says there was only one bad experience in Guam. Thieves shattered the window of her rental car and stole her purse that contained cash, credit cards, driver’s license, passport and cell phone.

“I didn’t have a penny to my name or any picture ID, and I couldn’t have been farther away in the world and still be in an American territory,” said Zyburt. “It was a moment of fright and panic, but I picked up the pieces, and lots of people were helpful in my predicament.”

One of her daughters wired money to her, and her driver’s license and passport were recovered.

Zyburt says that she’s unsure what her future holds. She says that she learned a lot on her journey about people in need and the programs that help them.

“I knew the need was great, but it’s worse that I realized,” she said.

Although the next chapter of her life is uncertain, Zyburt has proven that anything is possible.

For details and photos of her travels, visit her blog.