Garden Grove Mayor Steve Jones marveled at the elaborate front-yard fort constructed around a towering tree on West Street.

“Would you look at that?” Jones, 50, mused about the multilevel playhouse. “I wonder how many times I’ve driven by it without noticing. You see so much more on foot.”

That’s the whole idea of these morning treks, said Sue Parks, CEO of OC United Way. Last year, she walked at least five miles in each of Orange County’s 34 cities.

“How better to get to know the needs of communities?” Parks said.

She’s back at it, although with a more refined goal for 2019 – trimming the itinerary to nine main cities served by United Way.

On Saturday, Aug. 10, Parks led about 30 colleagues and community members along busy thoroughfares of Garden Grove – starting and ending at Santiago High on Trask Avenue. Hikers stopped briefly outside two more schools to hear about programs there for at-risk students.

At Santiago High and Doig Intermediate, United Way invested in graduation, college and career readiness efforts. At Violette Elementary, the nonprofit installed a water purifier and provided kids with reusable bottles to encourage forgoing sugary sodas.

Since the campuses were closed for the weekend, the walk mostly consisted of just that – walking. And chatting. And taking in the scenery. And exercising the old-fashioned way.

A few participants brought their dogs. As always, Parks escorted her seven-year-old Bichon named Cami. “Duty calls!” she chirped, yanking a bag from her pocket as the pup made a potty stop.

Probably more than anyone else on the adventure, Parks loves to walk, racking up some eight miles a day on her pedometer with or without company. When she joined United Way two years ago, the Dana Point resident turned her passion into a purpose.

So far this year, Parks, 62, has toured Westminster, Santa Ana, La Habra, Huntington Beach and, now, Garden Grove. Still to come are Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Buena Park and Anaheim.

“United Way serves the entire county,” she said. “But these are the cities in which we are most involved.”

OC United Way assists residents with such matters as housing, utility bills, tax preparation, transportation, child care and mental health crises.

Sprawling cities such as Garden Grove offer plenty of territory. Last year, Parks wandered a completely different area around Main Street.

However, small towns like Stanton required weaving up and down sidewalks to hit five miles.

For city officials, the strolls can be both enchanting and revealing.

“When I went on the Westminster walk, I was like, ‘Holy smokes, there’s so much trash everywhere!’” recalled Westminster City Councilman Sergio Contreras. “I talked with our public works department to see what can be done.”

Echoing the Garden Grove mayor, Contreras, 49, director of education for OC United Way, added, “It’s one thing to see the world while driving by, and quite another to see it up close.”

Ricardo and Ashley Dos Santos held up the rear, pushing their two-year-old daughter Ashley in a stroller. It was the Huntington Beach family’s first outing with Parks.

“I told my husband, uh, it’ll only be two or three miles,” Ashley Dos Santos, 35, confided with a laugh.

The former Garden Grove teacher showed up to support the cause. “This is a beautiful way to get to know communities in car-centric Southern California,” she noted.

Dana Point resident Nanda Kumar, 58, president of Eaton Aerospace, said his company has been active in United Way for decades. “It’s good to get out and actually see where we are making an impact,” he said.

At the end of the two-hour outing, Parks seemed barely to have broken a sweat. But others expressed relief as they rounded the corner toward Santiago High’s parking lot.

“I’m realizing I’m not in such great shape,” said Placentia resident Yahaira Ortiz, 34, a youth program manager for United Way. “I am so excited to see my car.”