Students raise money to send shoes to Tanzanian children in need

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Students laced up their shoes and hit the floor to walk for footwear for Tanzanian children Monday night.

Grant junior Mollie Jo Swendrowski was one of the “Ready, Set, GO! Walk-a-thon” event organizers.

Swendrowski said she did not know how much money was raised or how many walkers participated at time of publication, though she said she hoped for 30 walkers and $200 in funds.

The walk-a-thon featured a live disc jockey, raffles and a banner students could decorate if they made a donation, Swendrowski said. The banner will be sent to a village in Tanzania with the shoes. Registration was $5 before the event or $8 at the door.

“Every dollar from registration, from raffle tickets and from the ‘Decorate to Donate’ wall is going straight to the GO Effect,” said Swendrowski.

Cheboygan junior Courtney Inglis said she thinks the walk was for a good cause.

“Everyone needs shoes,” she said. “If you get a cut over there it’s a big deal because they don’t have clean facilities like we do.”

The Walk-a-thon was the creation of a group from RPL 430: Planning Recreation Programs and Events.

“The class gets split up into groups of about five or six students, and starting with no budget, all have to plan an event on campus that makes a profit to be donated to that group’s charity of choice,” Swendrowski said.

All of the money from the event will go toward shoes for the children of Tanzania.

“Money is the GO Effect’s last priority. It’s all about pushing people to achieve their potentials,” said Rochester Hills junior Lisa Zelenak, president of the GO Effect registered student organization. ”Anyone who puts on a charity event gets to pick where their money goes.”

The GO Effect works to build leaders and to build better, sustainable communities, she said. The members are also working on building a hospital in Tanzania.