On Sunday, September 26th, the Thomas More universities honor society, Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) put on the first NAMI 5k. The race walk/race was a fundraiser for the NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Students partnered with the Northern Kentucky detachment for this fundraiser.
The 5k had nearly 200 racers and walkers attend, varying from student athletes like cross country and basketball teams, to members of the community and those affected by mental health. Attendees took to the Thomas More track on campus to complete 12 laps around the field for the just over 3 mile route.
Sophomore Sarah Bertsch, a member of ALD and coordinator for the event was excited about the turnout. "Mental health is something that affects all of us, and likely know someone who was negatively affected by it. It's important to come together like this and be stronger together." Birch said.
Students from ALD were able to raise $2,250 from the event and handed 100% of the proceeds to NAMI in their cause for helping those in the community.
With the outstanding turnout of this first event, students are looking towards the future for what other events they can do like this to keep helping fight the stigma around mental health.