Walking or running, it's fundraiser season

After walking 24 miles in the cold rain, Stouffer College House Dean Michele Grab rested for the night on the floor of a local high school, only to wake up and walk 19.5 more miles the next day.

But she did it for a cause - as part of the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk, sponsored by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The walk, which took place Oct. 6 through 8, required walking about 20 miles a day for three days and camping out at night.

Fall in Philadelphia is the season for benefit walks and runs, and students are taking the opportunity to support causes such as finding the cure for breast cancer or for AIDS.

The AIDS Fund's 12K AIDS Walk, which took place Sunday, had an estimated 15,000 participants, said AIDS Fund spokeswoman Cari Bender.

The walk started and ended in front of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

"The crowd is very young and very diverse," she said, adding that a large number of walkers are either area high school or college students.

Bender said the people who choose to walk for AIDS are different than they were 20 years ago. For instance, she said young activists and gay men do not come out in large numbers anymore.

Many university students also volunteer to help organize and run events, said Suzanne Rhodeside, development director for the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.

The foundation's 5K Guts and Glory run/walk, which took place Oct. 7, had its "most successful year yet," Rhodeside said, raising over $140,000 for the cause.

She added that the walk "gets lots of kids from lots of universities" in Philadelphia, whether they choose to actually walk or volunteer to help organize it.

College junior Lauren Bradley, who also participated in the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk last weekend, said she had previously walked for breast cancer a few years ago in Los Angeles.

"It was really hard, but I finally recovered and wanted to do it again," she said.

Bradley, who did the walk in honor of her mother, a breast-cancer survivor, said not many college students attempt the 3-Day Walk because of its difficulty and the training it requires.

"It was a good experience, but definitely hard and challenging," she said. "To see a line of women walking for the same cause was really empowering."

Grab, who has done several walks in the past, said she had been training for the event since May, working out six days a week, particularly rigorously on weekends.

"It was definitely very inspiring," she said. "I don't know that I could do the 3-Day again because it was very difficult."

She said she was only able to complete 53 of the total 60 miles because she hurt her ankle on the third day.

The 3-Day Walk raised $6.6 million - Grab herself raised over $3,000 through fundraising and donations from family and friends.

But not all fundraising efforts are as successful.

Bender said the AIDS Walk raised $300,000, which was significantly short of its $500,000 goal.

The cause "seems to have lost its urgency," she said. "In our 20th year, we are not meeting our goal."

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