Key Club takes steps against hunger

by Eileen Guan at September 23rd, 2011 2:57 PM

Last Sunday afternoon at Waterfront Park, a few Manual students participated in the Hunger Walk, an annual 5K walk or run benefitting Dare to Care Food Bank and The World Food Program. Over two thousand people participated in order to “put hunger on the run” by raising money and awareness and exchanging exchange miles for meals. Although the recent closing of the Sherman Minton Bridge altered routes for walkers, the event proceeded without much difficulty.

Lauren Hastings (11), a member of Key Club, headed the event and organized Key Club member participation. Hastings said that Manual raised $90 for the cause. Key Club, which is based on the volunteer work of its members, is involved in almost all the walks in Louisville. Hastings said, “The walk was a lot of fun and it was for a really good cause. Everyone was very nice and there were many students from other high schools there as well.”

Aimee Shuck (12), who also participated in the walk as a part of Key Club, has done the walk for the past three years. A seasoned walker, Shuck mentioned that, in the past, the event route usually took walkers across the Sherman Minton Bridge. However, due to the bridge’s recent closing, the walk was diverted to another route. Shuck said, “The experience was really great, because even though there was so much traffic and confusion from the bridge, a lot of people showed up. I saw a lot of people I knew, not just from Key Club, but other people from Manual, my church, and the Cross Country team was volunteering there.”

Other Manual students also had something to say about their experience.

Meredith Price (11) started the Hunger Walk with her church two years ago. This year, she became a part of Key Club and decided to do the walk with the club instead. She said, “I think it’s really important to raise awareness for hunger, and it’s doing a good job, more people participate every year. There is a very positive atmosphere because everyone is there to unite for a common purpose, hunger, which is a problem all over the world.”

Laura Kennedy (12), who has walked in similar events like the Breast Cancer Walk and the Ovarian Cancer Walk, first participated in a Hunger Walk last weekend. She said, “What really amazed me was the amount of people there, and how almost every person had on a Hunger walk shirt and was yelling crazy stuff like ‘Put a fork in hunger!’ All of the walks I’ve done have been with Key club. Without them, I wouldn’t even know about half of the awesome service stuff I do. Key Club is a great way to help out a large community and do it with your friends.”

 

Eileen Guan is a senior in HSU at Dupont Manual high school and a photo editor for Manualredeye.com. This is her first year on the Redeye staff.