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One Knoxville dentist traded his dental chair for hiking boots \u2014 walking more than 100 miles across Spain to raise money and awareness for a nonprofit he and his wife started 25 years ago.<\/p>\n
Dr. Gary Chesney and his wife, Debbie, are co-founders of Homes of Love<\/a>, a Knoxville nonprofit that supports family-structured homes for orphaned and at-risk children in Vietnam, Cambodia and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n The couple’s mission has deep personal roots.<\/p>\n Debbie says her heart for children in Vietnam began when she was in high school and saw the impact of the Vietnam War on children who were left behind.<\/p>\n “I was in high school and it was a black and white TV on WBIR, and I saw just the plight of orphans that had been left from the war,” she said. “That deeply impacted me.”<\/p>\n Years later, the Chesney’s adopted their sixth child from Vietnam, Anne Le.<\/a><\/p>\n “She was in an orphanage with like 300 other children, and she was actually well taken care of, but we would never want her to grow up in an orphanage,” Debbie said.<\/p>\n That experience helped inspire Homes of Love, which now works to place children who are unwanted, neglected, abused or without someone to care for them into loving families.<\/p>\n “They’re not orphans anymore. They belong. They have a place. They’re safe. They’re growing up in a family,” Debbie said.<\/p>\n Now, Dr. Gary Chesney<\/a> is putting one foot in front of the other for that mission.<\/p>\n He and Debbie have been hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, covering 120 miles over eight days, with one day left and 10 miles to go.<\/p>\n Gary says the hike is especially meaningful after dealing with knee problems for decades.<\/p>\n “I feel like God touched my life, or touched my knees,” Gary said. “This is the first time I’ve ever enjoyed walking.”<\/p>\n The couple set a $25,000 fundraising goal, which would help them bring 10 children into Homes of Love. Gary says all money raised from this trip goes directly towards the nonprofit.<\/p>\n So far, they say they’ve raised enough to bring five children into the program.<\/p>\n “Just to see the difference in these children that have found safety, love and compassion from parents. I’ve received so many blessings from just being able to watch,” Debbie said. “They’re not orphans anymore. They belong. They have a place. They’re safe.”<\/p>\n You can donate directly to Homes of Love here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n