Orange county plans own walk for education

Orange County Schools are fanning the embers of support for the debut Walk for Education as they try to build the foundation for a successful fundraiser.

"In this first year we're really interested in getting people out there," said Anne D'Annunzio, spokeswoman for the school system.

The Orange County walk is scheduled for 10 a.m. Nov. 5 and will start at the county courthouse.

Organized by the Education Foundation for the Orange County Schools and the Parent Leadership Council, the Walk for Education is aimed to be a major fundraiser and community event, drawing attention and funds to the county schools.

"We're mainly doing it as an effort to unite a community," said Kelly Monroe-Porco, education foundation vice chairwoman.

Parent leaders in the schools are organizing walkers who will pledge a donation for the school or simply participate.

Fifty percent of the profits from the fundraiser will go directly to the schools, said D'Annunzio.

The other half of the revenue will filter back to the schools through scholarships and special projects provided by the foundation.

The Orange County walk will focus on gathering support in its first year, encouraging donors and enthusiastic participants to walk with or without a pledge.

"We want everyone to be involved at whatever level they can be," D'Annunzio said.

She added that the foundation has been planning to do a community fundraiser for some time but that the logistical requirements for an event like the walk are a lot of work for the foundation's all-volunteer staff.

"This year they have just decided to bite the bullet and do this thing," said D'Annunzio.

Surrounding communities - Wake, Durham and Chapel Hill mainly - have a paid staff that helps organize large community fundraisers, Monroe-Porco said.

But the walk will benefit the community as a whole, providing intercommunity relations, she added.

With the county courthouse as the starting and ending point of the walk, the trail will pass through downtown Hillsborough on its almost mile-long trek.

Foundation leaders hope that the path will help enhance the sense of community as walkers pass through downtown, Monroe-Porco said.

One of the walk's models, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Walk for Education, was held Saturday, and raised a little less than $100,000 drawing a crowd of approximately 2,500 people, said Kim Hoke, vice president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation.

"Participation in terms of dollars and cents were down a little this year," said Stephanie Knott, the city schools' assistant to the superintendent for community relations, noting Katrina relief and aid have pressed donators for resources in recent months.

"I think it's a terrific community event bringing together all walks of life," she added.

 

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