The 2nd segment of the A4A@A – Action for Addiction at Albany was a benefit walk on Sunday, October 27th. It was a brisk fall day, with a bit of a chill and a breeze in the air, but the sun shone brightly and the autumn colors were just past peak and still very beautiful under a sunny and bright white cloud sky. Registration opened at 10:30am (considered before dawn for UAlbany students on a Sunday) for students to pay their $5 participation fee and get their t-shirts. Nearly 90 walkers paid! At 5 minutes to 11, we took a grand group photo. The walk began exactly at 11am, at the strike of the chimes from the newly refurbished UAlbany bell tower.
We circled round State Quad, following the perimeter campus ring road, University Drive around past the Boor Studio and Liberty, the new Bob Ford Field stadium, and up around the other side past Alumni House, Empire Commons, Colonial Quad and back to the new Business Building at the entrance to campus. ATV was there waiting as some of the last returnees came back in and interviewed the organizers for a feature story they are doing on this program.
The walk raised over $60o to be split between Hope House and Senior Hope, two local organizations that service those with addictions and their families.
The benefit walk was arranged by Jenny, Melissa and Eliot of the L’chaim Student Group. Co-sponsoring UAlbany Campus organizations included the UAlbany Counseling Center, Middle Earth Peer Counseling Program, UA Hillel, APO (which came out with strong participant numbers), UAlbany MMA, The Earthtones and UAalive. Local Business Sponsors included Albany ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat), Rosenblum Development, and New York Life – Latham Office. The entire A4A@A emdeavor was supported by a generous grant from UJA of NY’s JSAM – Jewish Social Action Month Project.