Sauter is raising money and awareness for United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan, or UCP, hoping to reach $10,000 by the end of June.

Sauter said he has a mild case of cerebral palsy in his legs, a lifelong condition in the brain which affects a person’s muscle control and movement. Sauter has raised about $3,000. Sauter accepts donations in person and on his Web site, www.stiltstory.org. In the first five days, said Linda Potter, executive director of UCP.

“We know he’ll get what he needs to do,” she said.

Sauter is walking for the Michigan Assistive Technology Loan Fund, which gives low interest loans to people with disabilities.

Though he said he didn’t get as much of a response from the Lansing community as he was looking for, Sauter is positive about the week ahead.

“I’m excited, feeling stronger, and more ready for the work this week,” said Sauter. He set off from the Capitol building Monday morning, a full day of walking planned to cover almost 22 miles before stopping for the night.

He’s not daunted by the long stretches of road, however, as Sauter said, “One of my favorite parts is getting the funny looks or waves and people who stop to give me a thumbs up or high five.”

When Sauter approached the stilt walker at a summer festival in his hometown of Blissfield two years ago it wasn’t to ask for an inflatable poodle or to see him juggle — it was to look for a job.

Since then Sauter’s stilt walking has taken him to fairs and shows, a world-record breaking marathon and now, a walk across Michigan.

For eight weeks, which began May 5, Sauter will trek across the state following a mapped route. He plans to perform in the mornings and get his walking done in the afternoons, resting at local homes overnight on the way.

He has asked for families willing to house him for the night along the way.

Some are homes of people he knows, and others are complete strangers, but Sauter said it adds excitement to meet more people who are open and supportive of his work and his cause.

An adjunct psychology professor at Jackson Community College, Sauter said he hasn’t let the cerebral palsy hold him back at all.

“The cerebral palsy actually makes me walk kind of flat-footed, which helps me out some on the stilts,” Sauter said.

Still, standing tall on the stilts didn’t come easily to Sauter.

The first few times he went up on the stilts he had to leaning against a wall in order to avoid falling. It took 15 hours of practice in an old barn before he said he was steady and strong enough to walk one mile on the stilts.

“I guess I was naturally born with a lot of stamina,” Sauter said. “I just got lucky.”

But he has encountered other physical obstacles like a sprained ankle during training. He also said he had to stop walking the second day of his statewide endeavor due to heat exhaustion.

Most of the sharing Sauter does with the public about cerebral palsy, and disabilities in general, is through the programs he performs for children and young people.

He said he uses experiences in his own life to create the messages he shares.

Sauter’s mother, Bev Sauter, said her son received financial help to pay for college because of his cerebral palsy, and since then he’s always felt like he needed to pay something back.

She said her son is doing just that with his success in the Grand Rapids Marathon last fall. Also, every $1 donated to Sauter’s cause will be match with $3 by the federal government, she said.

Bev Sauter said some of her son’s plans make her nervous, but she knows he’ll figure it out.

“I just have to remember it’s his adventure,” she said.