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AKAS hold walk-a-thon

If you decided to take an early walk on Grambling’s track Saturday March 19 you would have noticed a lot of pink and green as the Alpha Theta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha hosted their first Kidney Awareness Walk-a-thon.Saturday morning members of Alpha Theta and supporters of the cause walked the track for one purpose to raise money for kidney awareness. Many might not be aware but March is National Kidney Awareness Month, and the ladies wanted to bring awareness to GSU’s campus.

According to National Kidney and Urologic diseases Information Clearinghouse, (NKUDIC) last year in March there were 83,950 people waiting for a Kidney transplant and 2,208 awaiting for a kidney and pancreas transplant. African Americans are more prone to high blood pressure with and develop kidney failure at an earlier age. With a death rate of 100,000 black males make up 51.1 % of that number. according to kidney.org.

The women served snacks and drinks for the participants while a DJ played music as they walked to reach their goal in raising $770 for the cause.

Initiative Health Co-Chair Alice Stapleton, a senior n nursing major from Delhi LA, stated that “the event was a success, there were different volunteers from various organizations around campus and others who weren’t ,but still wanted to contribute.”
From 9 a.m. until almost 1 p.m. people came out to support the organization, donating and conversing amongst each other.

“I really enjoyed myself at the event, the weather was perfect, the atmosphere was great and the DJ really set the tone and made me want to walk more,” said participant Kenesha Carter, junior management major from Los Angeles.

But, for Dillondria Barnes a member of AKA the walk meant something much more. She stated that the walk for her was personal because, she had two uncles that had suffered from kidney disease, so not only her participated for her organization but for her uncles as well.

“The Walk-a-thon was nice, It was a good turnout. I think it spoke volumes about how dedicated the ladies are to kidney awareness, which disproportionately affects African Americans. It was definitely a worthwhile cause,” said graduate advisor Ether Robinson.

The organization had a goal to raise $770 and received $1770 after it was all said done. The event was an success and the ladies would like to thank everyone who played a part even if they could not walk, individuals still donated.