Alpha Gamma Delta will host its second annual Walk to Cure Type 1 Diabetes 5K on Oct. 5. The event pairs participating teams with local youth diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Participation for the event is $10 per person.
Alpha Gamma Delta will host their second annual Walk to Cure Type 1 Diabetes 5K Oct. 5.
The event starts at the southwest corner of Guy Wicks Field, which differs from last year’s walk in which the Kibbie Dome was the starting point.
“Last year, we started in the Kibbie Dome parking lot,” said Raela Mink, philanthropy coordinator for Alpha Gamma Delta. “But we can’t this year because there’ll be tailgate set up, so we moved to the soccer field.”
Mink said she’s been preparing for the event since she started her term as Philanthropy Coordinator for AGD in January.
“This event has been a little more extensive than previous ones,” Mink said. “We have to come up with T-shirt designs, we have to get the space reserved for the parts of campus we wanted to use. It was just a whole lot of paper work honestly.”
For the event, multiple teams consisting of two or more Greek houses will pair up with a child diagnosed with diabetes and walk the 3.1 mile route with them. AGD will participate as its own team with patient Candace Riley.
“We’ve got a really close relationship with her and her family over the last couple years, so we kind of took her as our own,” Mink said.
Mink said AGD tries to involve Riley as much as possible in the planning of the event.
“We try and get her over as much as she possibly can come over and as much as we can have her so she can be really involved,” said AGD Public Relations Coordinator, Khelen Harold. “Candace is so sweet and so much fun to be around. She’s just a great little girl.”
The proceeds and donations raised from the event will go toward the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation — an organization dedicated to funding type one diabetes research. AGD has already received more than $3,000 in donations, not including the sign-up fees and donations that will occur on sight.
“All of the kids walking are from this area,” Harold said. “So it’s the coolest thing to have these kids be the face of our philanthropy. To be able see who we’re doing this for is really cool.”
There are nine other children participating in the event who will be divided up between all the teams involved.
“We match them with the fraternities and sororities to educate the Greek community about diabetes and to make a connection with the children affected by it,” Mink said.
Participation for the event costs $10 per person. To sign up email Raela Mink at [email protected] or AGD President, Nicole Stine, at [email protected].
“Anyone can come and anyone can participate,” Mink said.
Aaron Bharucha can be reached at [email protected]