Circle K, one of the largest service clubs on campus, has partnered with Flaherty Hall to start a new event this year called Electric Mile. For $5, participants can participate in a mile-long walk or run from Main Building to Flaherty Hall from 8 to 9 p.m. on Friday, and all proceeds will help the South Bend Center for the Homeless provide bus passes to the homeless.
Senior Christina Kappil, the president of Circle K who has been coordinating the event, said the event is intended to demonstrate what a difference not having to walk everywhere would make in the lives of homeless people.
“In the wintertime, they have to walk to their jobs,” she said. “They have to walk miles and miles each day. This would alleviate that — especially in the winter — [so] that they can get to their jobs and help them get to a better place in their life.”
aSince the event is neon-themed, Circle K and Flaherty will be providing free glow sticks — as well as free hot chocolate and donuts — and they recommend that students wear their hall apparel. The event will end with a reception that will include music and food in the Flaherty courtyard, and a representative from the Center for the Homeless will speak about how the money will be used and what the center does.
Kappil said Circle K leaders had the idea to start the event after a club member discovered the Center for the Homeless needed bus passes, but did not have the budget to cover them.
“That was coincidentally when Flaherty Hall was opening,” she said. “We had partnered with Knott Hall to do various events, so we thought we could do this with a woman’s dorm.”
Kappil said she has liked working with the women of Flaherty Hall, since the groups have different resources and ideas.
“Meeting new people and having a vision together and seeing it implemented is a really cool aspect of planning it,” she said.
Her favorite part of the event, though, will be knowing the money is directed toward a good cause, Kappil said, and she hopes the two groups can repeat the event next year.
“If Flaherty wants to continue and actually make this their signature event, we would love to work with them,” Kappil said. “Ideally we could continue working with them in the future.”
Circle K and Flaherty are expecting about 150 participants and hope to raise $900 from Electric Mile, which will take place outside — regardless of the weather — in solidarity with the homeless, Kappil said.
“It’s a fun event, but it’s supposed to be in solidarity for the residents,” she said. “There is no rain date — it’s rain or shine. That’s part of walking in solidarity with these people who have to walk in tough conditions to get to work.”
