How Would I Go About Organizing A Celiac Disease Walk

[Guest thatchickali]

Has anyone organized a walk? Who would I talk to to get it underway. I know there was one in Austin, TX (my hometown) but I'm at school in Lubbock, TX and want to get the word out and do something to make a difference. I'm a member of a service sorority so I know I could get people at the walk, I just don't know where to start...Any advice?

[ravenwoodglass]

Has anyone organized a walk? Who would I talk to to get it underway. I know there was one in Austin, TX (my hometown) but I'm at school in Lubbock, TX and want to get the word out and do something to make a difference. I'm a member of a service sorority so I know I could get people at the walk, I just don't know where to start...Any advice?

I would think about going for guidance to the person who oversees your sorority activities. Or perhaps your college dean. Another place that many forget about is the library, talk to some of the librarians and ask them where would be best to go for advice on starting things up. If you have a medical center or hospital they may have some interest also. Some have 'open house' type days with blood pressure booths and other info and activities, perhaps they might like to have you at their next event with some info to give out. Your newspapers both college and local might have some ideas or even do a short piece to get the word out. Good luck with the walk idea. It is so important for us to get the word out any way we can. So many in this country suffer needlessly.

[2Boys4Me]

If there's a Celiac Association in Lubbock, contact the society. People there can help.

[kbtoyssni]

You could also look at the calendar page on this board. It often has listings of walks that are taking place around the USA so you might be able to get some contact information from someone running one of those for some advice.

[burdee]

I organized celiac walks with gluten free food fairs for 2 years in a row. For our route I chose a local lake path (2.8 miles) which was used for previous celiac disease awareness walks, before I assumed responsibility. Having a gluten free food fair at the start/finish point of the walk gives nonwalkers something to do and walkers a chance to linger longer after the walk. However you may not want to assume that much responsibility for your first walk. Look for a local GIG or CSA support group in your area or in a nearby town. They may want to help or have members who already organized walks. Here's more things to consider:

Where will your walk begin?

What route will your walk take? Is that doable for most walkers, esp. families with strollers?

Do you need permits for large groups to walk that path or through a local park?

Do you need permission from a local park association or whomever runs the start point building?

How and where will you advertise?

Pick a date when most people will be available, like between holidays (I chose my walk weekend between mother's day and memorial day before most people leave for vacation) or vacations.

If you don't have a group or bunch of friends to help, you need at least 3 really reliable helpers to plan and advertise the walk. You'll need more volunteers on walk day, but people usually won't commit to help until you get most of the groundwork (planning and permits) done.

Do you want to raise $$ for celiac awareness? (Selling teeshirts to walkers is one method.)

Those are just some ideas to get you started. Feel free to pm me for more info and suggestions. I kept most of my walk 'plans' in Word documents which I can send.

BURDEE