(Pictured above are members of the group. From left, they are: Amanda Hong, Yamna Oussir, Shani Patel, David Combs and LaVonne Downey).
CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–May 2, 2016. More than 2,715, 000 steps – some of them routine but all of them meaningful – have been taken since early March by a Roosevelt University professor and four students, whose aim is to see that children around the globe don’t go hungry.
LaVonne Downey, associate professor of public administration at Roosevelt, alone has taken nearly half of the group’s steps – more than 1,145,500 to be exact – in the UNICEF Kid Power Team project that is engaging people all over the world in walking to end child hunger.
Meanwhile, Roosevelt students Shani Patel, Amanda Hong, Yamna Oussir and David Combs, all members of the Roosevelt United Nations student chapter, have racked up a combined total of more than 1,569,500 steps.
“Every day, I walk about 20,000 steps, and I feel good about every one of them,” said Patel, an MBA student in finance and healthcare who will graduate from Roosevelt in May.
Like others involved in the project, Patel has kept track of his daily steps by wearing a “fit-bit-style” bracelet. The bracelet transmits results daily via a UNiCEF Kids Power Team phone app for points that translate into meals being donated to hungry children in places India and war-torn Syria.
So far, Downey and her group have managed to walk enough steps to receive credit (10,000 steps=one meal) for more than 271 meals!
“This is a project that is enabling us to deliver a good based on what we do,” said Downey, who is the Chicago-area representative.to the United Nations Association. “It’s not about being fit, but fitness does connect you with the issue of child hunger,” she said.
Roosevelt is the only university in the area presently participating in the UNICEF Kid Power Team project, whose sponsors include Star Wars: Force for Change, which is a charitable initiative of Disney and Lucasfilm, and Target stores.
Currently there are plans to continue through December tracking steps and earning points for meals with members of the Roosevelt United Nations student chapter, said Downey.
“It’s been a defining experience for me,” added David Combs, a master’s in public administration student at Roosevelt who has so far recorded more than 322,500 steps, a number he hopes to continue building on even after he graduates in May. “I want to go into public service and I see this as an opportunity to put public service into practice,” he said.
To learn more about the Roosevelt campaign, visit http://unaroosevelt.wix.com/chicago or for information on joining the Roosevelt United Nations student chapter, contact [email protected].
Source: http://www.roosevelt.edu
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