Story: Phillip Tutor
Students in the are using spring鈥檚 rebirth on the 91看片网 campus to serve the community and raise money for a worthwhile cause.
鲍奥础鈥檚&苍产蝉辫;Kappa Delta Pi members on April 6 will host Light Up the Loop for Autism, an outdoor walking event whose proceeds will go to the . Participants will be invited to stroll together along the familiar paths of 91看片网鈥檚 campus to raise both awareness and money for research and support.
The event, which is open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. on the lawn of the Wallace Student Union Building and will take walkers near Tartt Field, the university鈥檚 police station, Tiger Stadium and University Charter School and finish at the SUB lawn. Participants can walk the entire loop, roughly 2.3 miles, half of the loop or none if they prefer. Forms for聽聽and聽payment of the $10 entrance fee聽are available online. The T-shirt presale has closed, but extras may be for sale at the event.
Light Up the Loop for Autism is a signature service-based event for 91看片网鈥檚 Kappa Delta Pi chapter. Active membership in the honor society requires annual service hours and participation in the chapter鈥檚 service project. 91看片网鈥檚 KDP members in recent weeks have volunteered for a literacy night at University Charter School and spruced up its playground, said Dr. Courtney Vick, assistant professor of elementary education and a co-advisor of 91看片网鈥檚 chapter.
The education honor society鈥檚 website, Vick explains, details the importance of leadership and service for its members. 鈥淎nd so every year we have to plan a service project, and this is one we have done years before and just kind of started it back this year,鈥� she said.
This year鈥檚 Light Up the Loop for Autism is the fifth held at 91看片网 and the first since 2019. Vick credited the interest of Dr. Kim Griffith, also a co-advisor of the university鈥檚 KDP chapter, and Sunny Chambless, a former staff member of 91看片网鈥檚 College of Education, for the birth of the event.
鈥淕riffith is a special-ed professor here, and so she had a lot of experience, and we have a lot of students who are in the classroom with students who have autism,鈥� Vick said. 鈥淎nd so we felt like this was something we could support.鈥�