Hundreds of people will be walking and running around campus Oct. 21 in support of the NROTC Homecoming Spirit Run/Walk 2003 “Support Your Troops and Your Health.”
“This year’s walk is a support effort for the troops as well as to help people gain knowledge about their health and diseases, ” said Tyronne White, Staff Sergeant of the NROTC.
This event will take place at the set from 11a.m. to 3p.m. and all the money raised from the Spirit Walk/Run will go to support four prevalent diseases plaguing the black community including heart disease, diabetes, sickle cell anemia and HIV/AIDS.
The Spirit Walk is not just about raising money but also about staying healthy. The American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Sickle Cell Foundation and HIV/AIDS Association will be present to support the spirit walk and distribute information about each disease.
Although this event has been a tradition since FAMU’s very first homecoming, the event organizer, Shameka Baker, 22, a senior, political Science/pre-Law student from Lake City, was faced with coming up with ways to overcome problems such as poor attendance and low community involvement.
To overcome these problems, Baker decided to turn the homecoming event into a fundraising tradition.
” I wanted to add a new twist to an old tradition,” Baker said ” I thought that it would be a great idea if we could incorporate something that would help the African American community in anyway possible.”
Another aspect of the spirit walk that will persuade students to come out and show their support is that this year’s Spirit Walk/Run will be a competition between university offices and student organizations.
The organization that raises the most money will receive one free use of Lee Hall. Many organizations have already pledged their support by donating money.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. has donated $500 as well as the NROTC, which has donated $100.
Some of the organizations have signed up to walk including Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Epicurean.
“We are always looking to help out around campus anyway we can to raise money,” said Social Action Chair for Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Brandon Carter, 22, a senior English student from Richmond, Virginia.
Because of the competition and the organizations participating in the Spirit Walk/Run, Baker is looking for the event to be very successful.
” I hope the turn out is good because it is for a good cause, “Baker said.
“I also know that this is the first year that we are doing something like this and it is hard to create something brand new for FAMU.”
For more information about this event, contact Shameka Baker at 656-2483, or Christopher Clark at 915-4064.
Jessica Harris can be reached at JessicaHarris1@aol.com.