” Oct. 3 will be the University of Akron’s first annual 5k walk for breast cancer, which is called Campus Cure for Cancer. The walk is 3.1 miles and will start in the Carroll Common, which is outside the Starbucks entrance of the Student Union. From there, walkers will go through part of campus and then through part of downtown and end up back at the starting point.”
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Oct. 3 will be the University of Akron’s first annual 5k walk for breast cancer, which is called Campus Cure for Cancer. The walk is 3.1 miles and will start in the Carroll Common, which is outside the Starbucks entrance of the Student Union. From there, walkers will go through part of campus and then through part of downtown and end up back at the starting point. Route maps will be provided and pink duct tape arrows will be pointing which direction to go.

Amanda Cole, who is in her second year of Masters work at The University of Akron, is the head of this event. She says, our walk is unique because you can choose where you want your money to go. She goes on to explain that you can decide whether your proceeds will be donated nationally or locally to help breast cancer patients. It can go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation where they do a lot of things such as research, grants, and giving treatment and preventive measures to under-insured and uninsured people, says Cole. Local donations will go to The Gathering Place, which is a cancer support center for any person who has been affected by cancer. All of their services are free and they do lots of counseling, healing, and also give help with insurance and nutrition. Cole recently took a tour of the facility and explains one service they offer is the willingness to explain the results of an MRI to a patient who does not understand how they read it.

The event starts at 10:00 a.m. on Oct. 3. Cole believes this is nice because most walks start really early in the morning. Registration for the event is $10 and pre-registration can be done by going to www.CampusCureForCancer.com. There will also be on-site registration the day of the event, which will start at 9:00 a.m. The first hundred people will get a free T-shift. We have some really cool raffle prizes such as Cavs tickets, a taste of Akron restaurant package, and there will be free coffee, says Cole.

Although this is Cole’s first walk at UA, she has held four previous walks in the past at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida. My freshmen year of college I was really, really homesick and I had participated in several breast cancer walks back at home and I decided that I would do a breast cancer walk so I could think about something else, says Cole. During her second year of college her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and her walks allowed to help deal emotionally with it since she was 1,000 miles away from home. Her first walk only brought in 56 walkers and $1,000, but by the time the second walk rolled around they raised $9,000 in donations.

It’s more than a 3 mile walk on a Saturday morning, it’s about building a supportive community on the campus and throughout the community. It is about supporting, honoring, and remembering people who have had breast cancer and providing a supportive community, says Cole. She believes it is very important for college age students to learn what breast cancer is, what to look for, what to do if someone has it, and how to be better prepared for it.

It is not necessary to be affiliated with UA to walk. Donations will still be accepted even if you can’t walk. Cole has no idea how many walkers or how many donations to expect, but she doesn’t believe that is what is important. It’s more about supporting the cause, she says.

Call news writer Susann Schmitt:

330-972-7362

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https://www.buchtelite.com

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