DCCC Students, Staff and Faculty Raise Almost $1,700 during Walk-A-Thon for Hunger Relief

By Myra Thompson
Davidson County Community College

October 18, 2011

Over 100 Davidson County Community College students raised $1,672 in sponsorships to help fight world hunger during a campus walk-a-thon Oct. 6.

Sponsored by the DCCC International Club, members staged the 12-hour walk-a-thon to create awareness of the problem of world hunger and to urge people to do something about it. Some walked while others jogged and ran the outside course mapped out with footprints painted in the DCCC colors of blue and white. Walkers included staff, faculty, students and members of the DCCC Storm men’s basketball team and women’s volleyball team, Storm cheerleaders, and Stormy, the DCCC mascot.

DCCC International Club members participate in a campus walk-a-thon where they  raised almost $1,700 for U.S. and world hunger relief. From left are Michael Drake of Welcome, former president of the DCCC International Club, and three DCCC international students Amruta Bhinge of India, Ismiyati Hasiru of  Indonesia and Vhutshilo Malivha, from South Africa.

A group of walkers assemble in the DCCC Courtyard prior to the Oct. 6th walk-a-thon to raise funds and awareness for hunger relief. They surpassed their goal of $1,000 by raising almost $1,700.

Participants walked, jogged and ran approximately 200 miles along the route that was also marked with facts about hunger and poverty. The 30 members of the International Club will send the funds to benefit World Hunger Year (W.H.Y.) The WHY organization was founded by the late musician and hunger activist, Harry Chapin, and its mission is to encourage communities to come together to help feed the hungry in the United States and other countries of the world.

“I want to thank the hard-working, dedicated members of the International Club who planned and carried out this event so well as well as all those who walked, volunteered and donated money to this worthy cause,” said Susan Scarboro, a DCCC English instructor who is one of the club’s faculty advisors.

DCCC International Club members are planning a second event to benefit world hunger on Friday, Nov. 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. A Zumba-Thon dance will be held in the Brinkley Gym on the Davidson Campus. Admission will be $4 at the door. 

James Penley, president of DCCC’s International Club, said he hoped to get a large number of participants to take part in the Zumba-Thon, a dance set to Latin music as well as music from other world cultures. “It will be a lot of fun and great exercise all for a good cause,” Penley said.

International Education Week will be celebrated at DCCC Nov. 14-18, with the showcase event,  "A Taste of International” is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Brinkley Gym. The $3 admission fee for "A Taste of International" will help raise money to fight world hunger and raise scholarship funds for students who wish to pursue international education study trips. DCCC will offer short-term study abroad trips to China and Peru in May 2012, and a new student travel scholarship fund was established this year.

“A Taste of International” will feature musical and dancing entertainment from countries around the world and a sampling of international foods as well as approximately 30 exhibits and displays from other countries. 

As part of the week’s activities, an international film screening will be offered at no charge on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in the DCCC Conference Center. The film screening is made possible through a partnership between DCCC and the RiverRun International Film Festival.

The film is titled “An African Election,” and it won the 2011 Atlanta Film Festival’s Grand Jury award. It details the 2008 elections in Ghana and is offered as part of RiverRun's "Films with Class" program. The free screening will be followed by a group discussion.

For more information about International Education Week, contact Suzanne LaVenture, director of DCCC International Education, at 336.249.8186, ext. 6217, or email her at slaventure@davidsonccc.edu