More than 100 members of the Syracuse University community participated in Alpha Phi Alpha’s annual Walk to Remember on Sunday, which raised about $2,000.

This was the fraternity’s third annual Walk to Remember, and was held to raise awareness of hunger in Syracuse and worldwide.

Last year’s Walk to Remember focused on raising awareness of and combatting obesity, said Kofi Dormah, a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha and a senior in the School of Education.

Dormah said the annual walk is meant to acknowledge that, though we are making progress to eradicate widespread problems such as hunger, they still need to be looked at and combated.

Proceeds from the event will go to Syracuse Grows, a grassroots coalition working to create a just foodscape in the city of Syracuse, in part through community gardening and urban agriculture. Around $2,000 was raised to be donated to Syracuse Grows, said Ronald Taylor, Alpha Phi Alpha’s director of community service and a senior political science and policy studies dual major.

Dormah said the group wants to continue Syracuse Grows’ work on community gardens, which are crucial in areas like Syracuse where residents have more access to fast food than fresh fruits and vegetables.

“With a community garden, even though it’s amongst an urban environment, you can still have that healthy, natural living and that’s an important and beautiful thing,” Dormah said.

Several organizations participated in the walk, donated to and supported Alpha Phi Alpha’s cause, including the African Student Union, the Haitian American Student Association, the National Society of Black Engineers and several other fraternities and sororities.

The walk began in front of Carnegie Library, and continued down Comstock Avenue to Manley Field House and back. The group ended the walk with a race, sprinting through the Quad and looping back to Carnegie.

Taylor said Alpha Phi Alpha chose to focus on health awareness for the Walk to Remember because it’s important to the group as a historically African American organization.

“Many folks don’t understand the health of specifically the people we represent, so today we came out to build awareness about health and give students the opportunity to come together and support that cause,” Taylor said.

Christiane Voufo, a member of the African Student Union and a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said the walk was also important as it shows solidarity and a supportive foundation amongst organizations on campus.

“Hunger is really big issue, and it’s one of the main causes of death in the world but it’s one of the easiest things to prevent,” Voufo said. “So if you can do something about it then why not?”

Published on April 19, 2015 at 8:02 pm

Contact Lydia: lawilson@syr.edu