By Amber Brockway After the events of Sept. 11, Kristi Varela of Bowling Green wanted to do something to help. She couldn’t travel to ground zero and scrounge through scrap metal. She couldn’t volunteer at the local hospitals in New York City. She could, however, use the resource she had available to her—her job. Varela approached her boss and discussed a way to raise money for the disaster relief efforts.

Varela is the manager of Curves for Women, an all-women fitness facility on North Main Street in Bowling Green. She collaborated with her co-workers to organize Walk for America, a activity to raise money for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The registration fee of $10 went to the fund.“I had done other walks before, such as the Race for the Cure, that have benefited people,” Varela said. “And I thought, we are a fitness center, isn’t there anything that we can do to raise money? So we combined the idea of fitness with a fundraiser.”

Varela’s co-workers, Laura Joseph and Nikki Bloom, joined in her efforts and the three of them set out to get sponsors and donations from the community.

The 3.5 mile walk was on Saturday, Oct. 20. It began at the City Park.

The women made fliers and passed them out all over town. They knew they could count on their members at Curves, but they also wanted to involve the rest of the community.

Joseph, who has worked at Curves for five months, is also a graduate student at Bowling Green State University. She came into my journalism class to announce the walk. This appealed to me because like Varela, I felt propelled to do something to help with the relief efforts. But being so far away from ground zero, I felt helpless. This gave me the chance to do my part to benefit the relief efforts.

Along with 62 other volunteers, I gave up sleeping in that Saturday. Convincing my boyfriend to get up at 8 a.m. to walk with me was no easy task, but even he knew the importance of the cause. I also recruited another friend and my boyfriend’s mother, Jean Hines, a professor of family and consumer sciences at the university. We arrived at the City Park and received our t-shirts that donned American flags and read, “Walk for America: In Memory of Those Who Lost Their Lives: September, 11, 2001.” The shirts were donated by American Apparel of California; the screen-printing was done by Screen Print, a local shop.

Participants were treated to bagels and pastries by the downtown Panera Bread and fruit from Food Town and a local apple orchard. Water was also donated by Wayne Homes builders.
Before setting out on the walk, we were asked to take a moment of silence by Elizabeth Rhodes, owner and manager of the local Curves facility. Then we set out on that clear, perfect autumn day to show our support for our country and in remembrance of all those who lost their lives on that fateful day more than a month ago.

Varying in age from toddlers to seniors, we walked down a few side streets until we got to Main Street. It felt empowering to be a part of the long line of people walking. We must have been a curious sight for passing motorists and local business owners. Everyone walked at their own pace. Since my boyfriend was along, I had to walk a little slower than my usual mall-walking gait.

After walking down Main Street, we circled our way back to the City Park. Some of the volunteers began their walk at 8 a.m. before the bulk of the group, and some showed up late after we had set out. Most of those who participated in the walk also helped with set-up.
“Overall we had a really good turnout,” Joseph said. “We really appreciated everyone who took the time to walk. All of the money is going to a good cause.”

Michael Mulhall, Joseph’s boyfriend, also participated because he understood the importance of the cause. “Today really showed how the university could come together with the community to do something to help,” he said.

As of Oct. 24, Curves raised more than $1,000 from the walk and community donations. The amount will be matched by Curves. Also, an incentive took place for two weeks prior to the walk: Curves dropped regular service fees for new members that donated between $49 to $149 to the relief fund.

Employees said Walk for America will become an annual event—always held around Sept. 11.