2008 Woodie Awards
Group hosts walk for AIDS, poverty in Africa
Sunny Hutchinson
Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Entertainment
5,280 feet are in one mile.
A person takes an estimated 2,000 strides per mile they walk.
Few people realize, however, just how painful these small steps can be for someone who does not have the financial resources to buy a simple pair of shoes.
Senior political science and French double major Lindsay Laplantel doesn't just have her upcoming May graduation on her mind; she's worrying about those less fortunate. On top of counting down the days until she graces the stage to receive her diploma, Laplantel is making a change in the world by organizing a one-mile walk on campus to help raise awareness about AIDS and poverty issues in Africa.
Making Our Mile Count, a one-mile walk to address the issues of AIDS/HIV treatment and prevention, extreme poverty and injustice, will begin at noon April 9 in front of Byrnes Auditorium and will continue throughout campus.
"It is important for people to be aware of the fact that impacting the world can be as simple as taking a walk or buying a pair of shoes," Laplantel said. This simplicity is absolutely visionary. I just want to make people more aware of the fact that it doesn't take a lot of time or effort to make another person's life more livable. I hope to shed a little light on a problem that, though it isn't close enough for us to see, impacts millions of people in a huge way."
Borrowing the initial one-mile walk idea from a band she was hooked on as a young teenager, Hanson, Laplantel and fellow Hanson street team member and Winthrop student, junior middle-level education major, Betsy Bennett have teamed together with 25 other Hanson fans around the state of South Carolina to organize a day in which a variety of schools will participate in the walks.
The walk organized by LaPlante, however, goes one step further than Hanson's.
During Hanson's walks throughout the country, fans were asked to walk barefoot and to then purchase a pair of TOMS shoes. For every shoe they purchased, the company would then donate a matching pair of shoes to a child in Africa. With an achieved goal of 50,000 shoes, Hanson and their fans successfully provided the same amount of children with a pair of shoes.
A person takes an estimated 2,000 strides per mile they walk.
Few people realize, however, just how painful these small steps can be for someone who does not have the financial resources to buy a simple pair of shoes.
Senior political science and French double major Lindsay Laplantel doesn't just have her upcoming May graduation on her mind; she's worrying about those less fortunate. On top of counting down the days until she graces the stage to receive her diploma, Laplantel is making a change in the world by organizing a one-mile walk on campus to help raise awareness about AIDS and poverty issues in Africa.
Making Our Mile Count, a one-mile walk to address the issues of AIDS/HIV treatment and prevention, extreme poverty and injustice, will begin at noon April 9 in front of Byrnes Auditorium and will continue throughout campus.
"It is important for people to be aware of the fact that impacting the world can be as simple as taking a walk or buying a pair of shoes," Laplantel said. This simplicity is absolutely visionary. I just want to make people more aware of the fact that it doesn't take a lot of time or effort to make another person's life more livable. I hope to shed a little light on a problem that, though it isn't close enough for us to see, impacts millions of people in a huge way."
Borrowing the initial one-mile walk idea from a band she was hooked on as a young teenager, Hanson, Laplantel and fellow Hanson street team member and Winthrop student, junior middle-level education major, Betsy Bennett have teamed together with 25 other Hanson fans around the state of South Carolina to organize a day in which a variety of schools will participate in the walks.
The walk organized by LaPlante, however, goes one step further than Hanson's.
During Hanson's walks throughout the country, fans were asked to walk barefoot and to then purchase a pair of TOMS shoes. For every shoe they purchased, the company would then donate a matching pair of shoes to a child in Africa. With an achieved goal of 50,000 shoes, Hanson and their fans successfully provided the same amount of children with a pair of shoes.
Be the first to comment on this story