Oxford, UM chapters join to raise fitness awareness
OXFORD, Miss. – On Saturday (June 28), more than 50,000 members of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. are slated to participate in a
synchronized ESP 1908 Global Centennial Walk designed to raise
awareness about the importance of fitness.
Linking hands and stepping off at the same time worldwide (based on
time zones), the members hope to send a statement around the globe
emphasizing the importance of emotional, spiritual and physical health,
said Loann Honesty King, program chairman.
Participants include AKA members from every U.S. region, as well as Canada, Germany, the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.
Members of the sorority’s Oxford graduate chapter and University of Mississippi undergraduate chapter are scheduled to begin their walk around the Ole Miss campus at 11 a.m., starting at Tad Smith Coliseum. If raining, the walk is to take place inside the coliseum. The walk is open to the public.
“We are expecting approximately 20 former members of the Ole Miss chapter to participate, plus the 30 members of our graduate chapter,” said Deborah A. Purnell, president of the Oxford chapter.
Although members of the sorority are being asked to walk 1,908 steps, Purnell said she has challenged her chapter to walk three miles.
“We have several nurses in our chapter who came up with a three month walking plan aimed at getting us from zero steps to 6,000 steps,” Purnell said. “It’s a perfect beginner’s walk plan, so this Saturday should be a breeze for us.”
The Oxford and Ole Miss chapters partnered with “Let’s Go Walking Mississippi” and Ole Miss to provide pedometers to all AKAs participating in the walk. Plus, the chapters are giving out free pedometers to the first 20 people to sign up for the upcoming walk.
At the end of the walk, all participates will receive yogurt parfaits, fruit, iced tea and water.
In setting off on this historic walk, participants are to all face in the direction of Washington, D.C., where Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Centennial Convention takes place and where the sorority was founded 100 years ago.
For more information on Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., visit http://www.aka1908.com/.