WESTFIELD – Tomorrow, the 3rd Annual A Mile in Your Shoes: A Walk for Change will be held at Westfield High School. This walk serves three purposes; to come together as a community in order to recognize and appreciate that everyone has a story, to acknowledge the power of engagement in our schools and community and also to raise money for the Kinship Fund at WHS.
The Kinship Fund was established six years ago by Westfield High School adjustment counselors and a guidance counselor to help support homeless students from Westfield High School. On average, the Kinship Fund helps support 30 underprivileged students every school year. This walk is to raise money to benefit these students from Westfield High whose basic needs are not being met by any agency, and whose needs to be loved and nurtured are not being met by any family member. These needs include housing, medical and dental care, food, transportation, and financial guidance. These students, although abandoned and otherwise homeless, wake up each day, head to school and rewrite the future that has been thrust upon them.
“If we can teach them how to live on their own and provide a site for them to do that and bring in other services, then when they get to a little bit older age they are able to do it independently”, said WHS adjustment counselor Catherine Tansey, who helped create the fund.
All staff, students and families from all schools and community organizations are invited to come together for the walk. Aside from WHS, the school that has the highest attendance on the day of the walk will receive a check that may be used to start a Kinship Fund at their own school. Last year, North Middle School had the most participants and received a check for $100.
North Middle School health teacher Pat Mahoney and her students also helped to raise not only money for the Kinship Fund, but to raise awareness as well, and are planning on holding a Cartwheel-A-Thon to help benefit the fund.
“The walk is the root of the program because it really allows us to fund the things kids need” Tansey said. “To be active about things is a much better strategy than to just sit back and wait for someone else to do it’’.
There are options to walk either 2 or 5 miles. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and there is an entry fee of $5, but walkers are encouraged to raise more by collecting pledges. After the walk, there will be a free raffle and a cookout. Information and links to print pledge and registration forms are available on the WHS website. If you would like to donate money, a raffle prize, or need more information, please contact WHS guidance counselor Alison Kelly at [email protected].
