A Polish man traveled more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) on rollerblades to Microsoft Corp.'s headquarters to ask Chairman Bill Gates pay the medical costs of two disabled Polish girls, the company said on Tuesday.
Krzysztof Dzienniak, 24, rolled into Microsoft's Redmond, Washington campus on Monday after setting off from New York in late August to raise money for 7 year-old Monika Mosur, who was born with hydrocephalus, and Patrycja Bialkowska, a 10 year-old who lost a foot in an accident.
Although Dzienniak did not get to meet with Gates, who was out of town, he did convince Microsoft executives to set up a special employee-contribution fund for the girls, with donations matched dollar-for-dollar by Microsoft.
Gates kicked off the fund, established in association with the charity group SOS Children's Villages, with a $1,000 personal contribution and encouraged Microsoft's employees to donate as well.
"We do respond to needs like this... and hope that we will be able to raise the money necessary for the girls' treatment," a Microsoft spokeswoman said.
Dzienniak, who lives in Warsaw and read about the girls' plight, decided to make the trip after Gates visited Poland in 2003. He said he was inspired to make the trip by the movie "Forrest Gump."
Dzienniak wore out three pairs of rollerblades, or inline skates, and traveled about 32 miles a day.
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