Members of Sigma Alpha Mu, Zeta Tau Alpha and Alpha Epsilon Pi take a break Saturday morning during the American Heart Association Heart Walk. (Contributed Photo)
At 5 a.m. on a Saturday most students would only be a few hours into the night's sleep, but for others, Sept. 16 was a very early start to a day of volunteering.
For about 70 members of the Sigma Alpha Mu (Sammy), Alpha Epsilon Pi and Zeta Tau Alpha (Zeta) Greek organizations it meant it was time to get up and head to Dayton for the annual American Heart Association Heart Walk.
The 3.1-mile walk hoped to raise $400,000 toward research, programming and education on heart disease.
"The goal is that by the year 2010 we will reduce heart disease and stroke by 25 percent," said Barb Rothstein, the walk's director.
Rothstein was in charge of the walk for the second year in a row and said that so far $300,000 has been raised, with six to eight weeks left to reach their target.
Putting on the walk, which attracted some 3,300 participants this year - including many survivors of heart disease or strokes and their families - is a large undertaking and Rothstein looked to her son Josh for help with the event.
Josh, a senior Sammy, organized students to lend a hand with the walk after having great success with it last year.
"The majority of the volunteers for the past two years have come from Miami," Barb said.
The students set up tables, posted motivational signs, played with kids and cleaned up the site following the event. The Zetas led an aerobic warm-up session before hand to get the walkers ready.
"We were all so excited to be there; we had a common goal," Josh said.
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In addition to the physical aspect of the day, the students did their part to raise $6,000 through the use of www.kintera.com, which Josh describes as a user-friendly way to raise money. The program, which can be used for any fund-raising event, asked each student to send e-mails to five people asking for donations.
Despite the early start to the morning, Josh said the morale was incredible. After coffee and doughnuts donated by local Oxford businesses, the students were ready to work and had a good time doing it.
For Barb, getting to work with her son and the other students in supporting such a cause was a wonderful experience.
"They are amazing; they are really dedicated," Barb said.
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