Elizabethtown College held a virtual “Walk it Out for A-T” event April 23 through 25 hosted by the Education Organization (EdOrg) benefiting the A-T Children’s Project. Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is a rare and fatal genetic disease that affects children, progressively debilitating their muscle control, causing cancer and developing immune complications. The walk was a call for the fight of curing A-T and raising money for the cause.
“The Education Organization first partnered with the A-T Children’s Project around 16 years ago,” president of EdOrg Shannon Kerwin said when asked about the inspiration behind the event. “The A-T Children’s Project was something I had never heard of before joining EdOrg. A-T disease is basically taking the worst parts of a bunch of other common diseases and clumping them into one.”
This chilling description of A-T drives home the devastation children and their parents face with an A-T diagnosis. It also highlights the importance of bringing more attention to the issue. Having the event virtually might not be ideal, but EdOrg pushed to advertise the event and make it a success.
“I first heard about ‘Walk it out for A-T’ through EdOrg’s social media,” Andrea Pederson, a member of one of the teams raising money for A-T during the Walk it Out weekend, said. “I also went to the Zoom meeting and thought that it seemed like a fun way to end off the semester with my friends.”
It certainly has been a challenge to educate the campus community about A-T during a pandemic; however, EdOrg found new ways to stay in touch. “We were not going to stop educating people about A-T just because COVID wrecked our plans,” Kerwin said. “When COVID became a reality that will affect us, we realized we could not do our normal show or have people together. We had to postpone our plans from the fall, when it was impossible to do anything, to the spring. Having it virtually meant a lot of people could participate.”
Indeed, having a walk virtually during the spring might have increased the number of participants due to the weather getting better. “I had asked a few of my education major friends if they would want to form a team, and they all agreed and thought it would be a fun idea,” Pederson said. “We walked as a team all around campus and into town and increased our goal as we kept exceeding expectations.”
Overall, the event was a success. A-T Children’s Project website currently showcases the top three positions, who raised an impressive $1,500 for the cause. “We wanted to keep it as laid back as possible, especially with finals coming up,” Sherwin said. “We encouraged people to just join teams with their friends, get out and walk in the fresh air, and clock their miles into the app.”
“One of the main things that affects children diagnosed with A-T is a loss of muscle control in their legs, so they end up having to use a walker or a wheelchair. Therefore, the underlying message was that not only are we walking to support them but because we have the privilege of walking,” Kerwin said.
Most of Etown’s clubs have been hit hard by COVID, and everyone has found it challenging to find new ways to keep people engaged. EdOrg’s mission is inspiring, and it proves that when one has a passion for a goal, no obstacle can come in the way.
Now that events are becoming more open, we must not forget what we went through. We must learn from the challenges and adapt to a changing world. Whether it is virtual walk-a-thons or reading virtual papers like the Etownian, we have all come out of this year with newfound knowledge. Let us put it to good use.
