Posted:05/02/07

More than just walking
Parent to Parent walkathon held at St. Michael’s

Ryan Lowell | fact checker
rlowell@smcvt.edu

It was finally getting warm enough to exercise outside on Friday April 20, but many students saved their walking for the evening, when they flocked to the Tarrant recreation center for the Parent to Parent walkathon.

The walkathon began at 7 p.m. and ended early the next morning. It was organized by students and faculty from St. Michael’s College and the University of Vermont (UVM) in order to raise money for Parent to Parent, a statewide organization that supports families with children that have health needs.

A cause worth walking for

Families and students gathered in Tarrant from 5 to 7 p.m. on April 20 for the Parent to Parent walkathon. (photo courtesy of Mary Beth Doyle)

Participants in the walkathon raised donations for every mile they pledged to walk, and after covering minor event fees, the bulk of that money will be given to Parent to Parent, says Mike Stefanowicz, a sophomore who helped organize the event.

“Well over 90 percent of the money we raised will go directly into the services that Parent to Parent provides,” Stefanowicz says.

Julie Arel, executive director of Parent to Parent, says the organization will put the money they receive into family support services, which help families get treatment for their child’s illness.

Arel says a great part of receiving donations is that Parent to Parent can get every dollar matched by Medicaid, doubling whatever amount it is able to raise. She says the money helps about 4,000 families in Parent to Parent’s network, and that approximately 500 new families are helped with a variety of illnesses by Parent to Parent annually.

“Our families have children with over 400 different diagnoses,” Arel says. “Some are very common like ADHD, and some are incredibly rare, like chromosomal disorders or other rare illnesses.”

She says the organization’s main goal is to connect families whose children have common illnesses so the families know they aren’t alone.

“The families we work with often feel very isolated,” Arel says. “A lot of times when their children are born or when they receive their diagnosis, it’s hard for family and friends to know how to support them or what to say.”

She says the walkathon was a good step toward eliminating feelings of isolation among the families.

“[The walkathon was] an opportunity not just to raise money, but the chance for more people to learn about what we do,“ Arel says. “To meet the families and make them feel part of a larger community is really tremendous.”

Not a ‘walk in the park’ to organize

Radio Knights were the second of three bands who provided free music for participants to listen to while they walked. (Ryan Lowell, photo)

Although the event went smoothly, Stefanowicz says it took lots of coordination between St. Michael’s and UVM students and faculty to make the walkathon a success. Stefanowicz worked almost all day Friday to set up for the walkathon, and says he and 14 other people were a part of a leadership team that organized the event.

He says he heard about the possibility of the event from Education Professor Mary Beth Doyle, who also asked other Education students if they would be interested in helping to set up the event.

“She approached me last semester and said ‘I’m on the board for this really great organization, would you be interested in organizing a fundraiser?’” Stefanowicz says.

He says the people who were interested gathered at UVM, and tried to decide what kind of a fundraiser to hold. He says they thought a walkathon that Sheryl Fleury organized in aid of hurricane Katrina worked well last year, and so they decided to organize one for Parent to Parent.

But for this year’s walkathon, the organizers had to plan for more than just the participants walking, as there were refreshments, entertainment and even live music.

Stefanowicz and the other organizers worked to get vendors to donate food and bands like Six Day Slide to play a benefit show to reward participants. Junior participant Marc Gagne says he appreciated the music while he and his team walked 10 miles.

“The entertainment was great because it gave us something to do while we were walking,” Gagne says. “Ten miles of just walking is kind of boring.”

Although the entertainment was a little bit more work to organize, Stefanowicz says he thinks it helped draw more participants to the event.

“About 150 kids came during the Six Day Slide concert, which was awesome,” he says.

There was also a family fun time from 5 to 7 p.m., which included various family entertainment for the Parent to Parent families such as a puppet show.

“Kids for an hour were absolutely still watching the puppets with big smiles on their faces,” Arel says.

Arel says that although a lot of planning went into the event, the students made preparation relatively simple for Parent to Parent.

“We’ve never done a fundraiser quite like this before,” Arel says. “It was something that was spearheaded and completely carried out by the students here at St. Mike’s.”

A successful night

Junior Colleen Flynn (left) walked for a team sponsored by the Celtic Knights, along with her friend, junior Katie Burdett. (Ryan Lowell, photo)

After all of their hard work, Stefanowicz says the people behind the walkathon are pleased with how it turned out, as the event raised over $8,000 in donations. He says that after Medicaid matches the donations, the walkathon will have raised over $16,000 in total.

St. Michael's Junior Colleen Flynn, who walked to represent the Celtic Knights club, says she feels the event was a success and that she would definitely participate in it again.

“I think it’s a good cause because it lets [the families] know that there are people out there thinking about them,” Flynn says.

Stefanowicz says he was impressed by the level of involvement that students gave leading up to the event.

“Tons of people just come in [to the MOVE office] and help me hand out brochures and hang up posters,“ Stefanowicz says. “Some people volunteered to go through the residence halls collecting loose change and spreading the word about the walk.

And with organizers calling this year’s walkathon a success, there is already speculation as to another walkathon taking place next year.

“Mike Stefanowicz is a really dedicated kid, so I can definitely see it happening again next year.”

Stefanowicz says he was happy with the turnout of the event, and that the families seemed touched to have so much student support.

“It really highlights the community aspects on campus,” Stefanowicz says. “It’s not just one office that is organizing this, it’s kind of everyone coming together to help out kids with disabilities.”