This summer, Gunnar Swanson is planning to walk more than 1,000 miles.

A native of North Dakota and a veteran of the Iraq war, Swanson will be walking in an effort to raise funds and support for the War Kids Relief Program.

Swanson grew up and went to high school in Bismarck. He then attended college in Valley City and joined the 957th Engineering Division in the National Guard. He was in the Guard for eight years, and was a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the early stages of the war.

"Like many people, I think he found that war is not a pleasant experience. He wants to do something to help the kids out," said John Swanson, Gunnar's father.

The experiences he had in the war influenced Swanson's decision to make War Kids Relief a major part of his life.

During his time in Iraq, Swanson's division became accustomed to seeing children along the roads. The soldiers would usually stop and visit with the kids. Eventually, they had to stop doing this because Iraqi insurgents started to use the children as roadside or suicide bombers and young soldiers.

When Swanson returned home in 2004, he adjusted to civilian life well. However, he still felt a need to help the children whom he saw immersed in the war. He eventually came upon the War Kids Relief Program. Since then, his life has been devoted to the organization.

War Kids Relief is a nonprofit organization whose mission statement is to "provide opportunities to play a leadership role in the pursuit of peace."

The program is an offshoot of a larger organization called Children's Culture Connection. Since Swanson came across it, War Kids Relief has become a larger organization.

Now a program director for War Kids Relief, Swanson continues to grow and develop the program. The organization is working on four different projects in Iraq, Afghanistan and the United States.

Swanson's upcoming project, A Soldier's March for Peace, goes from Saturday to Sept. 13. His more than 1,000-mile journey starts in Dallas and ends in Northfield, Minn. It will be done in order to raise funds to support programs and give people a way to help kids affected by the war.

"We will be stopping nearly every day to visit kids," Swanson said. "It'll be with small youth groups, at the YMCA or boys and girls clubs."

At the stops, Swanson plans to discuss with kids how they can help out with the war.

"We will be asking for donations from people and for the kids to help raise money. After we talk to them, we hope that they will go off and get donations in their own creative way, then take the money earned and donate it to War Kids Relief," Swanson said.

The organization does this because the march is foremost for the kids. It is a way to make a connection for kids in the United States and ones in war-torn countries.

Swanson also will be taking donations from businesses and other large donors. Every cent earned will go to the kids in the programs started by the organization, he said.

The funds are needed in order to maintain its development. A heavy focus of the money raised will go to the projects dealing with children who are directly affected by the war.

Like the big cities in America, Iraq has a gang problem. The reasons for joining are financial and it gives them a family sense of security. These gangs in Iraq are sent out to kill American soldiers and destroy efforts that were made to help restore the country.

"Recruits are viewed as natural resources," Swanson said when talking about the children involved in acts of war violence. The only purpose of having kids in the gang is for an easy way to get the job done, he said.

War Kids Relief provides kids with an alternative to going into the gang. The organization built a youth center in Iraq and a vocational center in Afghanistan. Both facilities offer vocational skills and counseling.

"If we continue to do this, we will then make less enemies for our soldiers," Swanson said.

The consoling and caring that is offered in the facilities is something different to what the kids are used to. Thirty percent of people in the programs in Afghanistan and Iraq have post traumatic stress syndrome or some other type of mental illness, Swanson said.

"We see stickers all around us on cars, but when asked how people actually support the troops, they usually just say, 'We give them encouragement.' This gives them a tangible way," he said.

Swanson now lives in Dennison, Minn. He plans to expand the programs that are already started and start new ones.

To find out more information and track Swanson's journey, visit http://warkidsrelief.org.