‘Amazing Race’ for charity

By Abbey Gingras, Opinion Editor

Business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi (AKPsi) and nationwide retailer Kohl's are partnering to put on The Amazing Race, a charity event, at noon on Saturday, April 12 at the Hub.

Teams of four who sign up and participate will travel to various locations around campus and in Oxford to compete in challenges in order to determine a winner.

This year, the money raised will go to Charity: Water, which helps build wells in developing countries that need better access to drinking water. Junior Conor O'Bryan, Director of Member Education for AKPsi, is excited for the new philanthropic cause.

"In the past, the money we raised in these events went to Winton Hills, a local grade school in the Cincinnati area, so over the years we have created a very close relationship with them as we visit them multiple times every semester," O'Bryan said. "Charity: Water is a great organization that provides funding for wells and sources of clean water in areas that do not have those resources, so while it is not as local as our cause in the past, we think that it is still a meaningful and important cause to give to."

This is only the second year that AKPsi has held The Amazing Race. Last year, they raised over $5,500 for their philanthropy.

First-year student and new member Josephine Nachemson-Ekwall commented on the issues associated with promoting this event.

"We planned to pass out flyers outside but have not been able to do that because it has been raining a lot this past week," Nachemson-Ekwall said. "It's been the most challenging part so far."

Another notable factor for The Amazing Race is the corporate sponsorship of Kohl's. This partnership allows Alpha Kappa Psi members to interact with Kohl's employees and for Kohls to experience Miami's campus and student body. Kohl's will also have teams participating in the event.

In addition to bringing together students from all over campus and benefiting charity, The Amazing Race allows new members of Alpha Kappa Psi to try a hand at running an event and practicing leadership skills.

Sophomore Mickey Whitford, vice president of Philanthropy for Alpha Kappa Psi, spoke to the importance of this responsibility.

"Every semester there's a pledge project, and it's kind of simultaneously a way for them to prove that they can work together in a team and work individually, while providing for a good cause," Whitford said. "It's one of the most important things that our chapter does."

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Leading up to the event, Alpha Kappa Psi is holding various fundraisers to help raise even more money for their philanthropy. This includes a "takeover" at Skippers from April 6 to 11, where any customers who present an Amazing Race flier will have 20 percent of their order, including drinks, donated to AKPsi's philanthropy.