Help raise awareness and funds to enhance two programs supporting those with disabilities by joining the College of Public Health and Human Sciences’ Pre-Therapy and Allied Health Club (PTAH) from noon – 6 p.m. May 12-14 for its annual Wheel-A-Thon event in the Memorial Union Quad.
Grab your coworkers, friends, family and more and take a spin around the wheelchair course set up to demonstrate challenges those in wheelchairs face on a daily basis – going through doors, picking up and transporting books and traveling up ramps.
“The obstacles are there to raise awareness of the difficulty of these ordinary tasks for people in wheelchairs, while also adding some friendly competition,” says PTAH club member and Wheel-A-Thon coordinator Katie Soares.
Teams of 6-10 people have 20 minutes to complete as many laps around the course as possible. Those without a team can stop by and take an individual lap to compete for the fastest time. A donation of $60 is encouraged.
Prizes include trophies for first, second and third place teams and one for the fastest lap, as well as raffle prizes including Nike clothes, gift cards and CPHHS swag.
In addition to fun, the club’s goal is to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Exercise Program (MSEP) and IMPACT (Individualized Movement and Physical Activity for Children Today) – two CPHHS programs that benefit those with special needs.
“MSEP and IMPACT are two great volunteer opportunities for students,” Katie says. “We want students to be more aware of the difficulty of these tasks as well as introduce MSEP and IMPACT to students outside of the Exercise and Sport Science major.”
Funds raised during the event will be used solely for these programs helping those in the OSU and Corvallis communities.
“We raise money for these programs to further benefit participants,” Katie says. “Our club wants to be able to help provide these services to our community.”
MSEP will receive funds to purchase new equipment for participants, and IMPACT will use the funds for their operations budget including paying for lifeguards and graduate students as well as buying new pool and gym equipment.
Have you ever wanted to pie a professor in the face? New this year – now you can!
As part of the Wheel-A-Thon event, participants who successfully complete the “football throw” will get a chance to pie one of four Exercise and Sport Science faculty members – Sam Johnson, Mike Pavol, Jay Penry and JK Yun – in the face!
“This event is unlike any other,” Katie says. “It’s a great reminder that there are many people who struggle with these daily activities that we take for granted. The racing teams get competitive, and you can win great prizes and possibly pie a professor!”
Those unable to attend the event but who would still like to donate can go to this donation website set up by the PTAH Club.
Watch this video below highlighting last year’s Wheel-A-Thon.