Kappa Delta Shamrock 5K Reaches Monetary, Participatory Goals
If you were wondering where all those people dressed up as cartoon characters were going last weekend, they were participating in Kappa Delta’s (KD) third annual Shamrock 5K on Sun., Oct. 27. This year, the sorority decided to add a theme — Cartoons for the Kids — in order to differentiate this event from the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD) Hero Half-Marathon and Ripcord 5K, which occurred the weekend before.
Despite being held a week after a similar event, Kappa Delta sorority ended up far surpassing their goals for this year’s 5K. KD raised $5,140, well over their goal of $4,500. Out of the money raised, 20% will go to Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA), one of KD’s main national philanthropies, and 80% will go to the New Hampshire Children’s Trust, the New Hampshire branch of PCAA.
In addition, the house hoped to get at least half of the Greek houses on campus participating in the walk. To help increase participation, KD offered the house with the most participants the opportunity have dinner with President Hanlon and his wife Gail Gentes.
Delta Delta Delta sorority was the house with the most participation based on the number of people who actually attended the race, rather than the number registered, according to KD’s vice-president of community service Kristen Flint ’14.
KD also surpassed their goal for total number of participants this year. Eighty-three people registered for the race this year and 60 ran the course, up from 50 total participants last year.
“Seeing so many runners there that morning, everyone there made me so happy,” member of the Shamrock committee Judy Li ’15 said. “I was just so excited that it was such a huge success for such a great cause.”
The house began planning for the 5K last year and received their permit for the racecourse in May. Over the summer, members spoke with local businesses about donations for food and prizes as well as monetary donations. From the beginning of Fall term through last weekend, the focus shifted to getting entertainment for the race as well as finalizing sponsorships with local businesses, coordinating with Hanover Police and Dartmouth Emergency Medical Services while also promoting the event.
“A lot went into getting that race to start and there were times when I thought it was not actually going to happen,” Flint said. “It rained a little during set-up, there was a possibility of snow and you always worry about people actually showing up to the event. That was most rewarding for me, when [race actually began] and I had some time to breathe.”
The event also served as a chance for all of the members of KD to spend some time together while benefiting their national philanthropy.
“It was a great opportunity for all the sisters to come together,” member of the Shamrock committee Janet Liu ’15 said. “It was a community service event, but it was a bonding event as well. Everyone was very supportive and eager, and it was nice to see that everyone was happy to do it.”
Since the issue of child abuse and its prevention is rarely discussed on college campuses, members of KD felt that this it was important to raise awareness around this topic and further support within the community.
“There’s always a spotlight on sexual assault or domestic violence, but child abuse is also a very important issue that we might not think about right away on a college campus,” Li said. “There are a lot of families in the community, and this is an important cause to bring attention to. It’s also a way to get the community more involved, which is great, especially in such a small town.”