Apr 28th, 2014
A group of 30-40 students, faculty and staff from Jackson State Community College gathered in the campus quad Friday, April 25 for the 'Walk a Mile in my Shoes' event. This event came about as the result of a persuasive speech given by student Tammy Perry in her speech class.
The speech given by Perry was met with a great deal of enthusiasm and what she referred to as a 'call to arms.' In the speech, it is suggested that a group of students walk the 1 mile trek from the JSCC gazebo to the Habitat ReStore on North Parkway with the goal being to raises awareness for the plight of homelessness in Madison and surrounding counties.
The students in Perry's speech class began an enthusiastic discussion about this project and all felt is was something they would wholeheartedly support. Tammy met with Mrs. Terry Kozlowitz, director of the Jackson Habitat for Humanity, to discuss the possibility of pursuing this project. The level of support from Kozlowitz equaled and maybe even surpassed that of the students. As Perry describes it, 'this quickly began to snowball into a rather large project.'
Kozlowitz redirected some of her marketing resources toward garnering some media attention for this project. Perry created a flier for the event and began to advertise it on campus. As a result, the pieces began to fall into place.
On the day of the event, enthusiastic participants gathered at 'high noon,' as directed on the flier, to begin the trek. A JPD motorcycle policeman led the group. Also in tow were media representatives from the Jackson Sun and WBBJ TV. Approximately 17 minutes later, the group arrived at the front door of Habitat.
Perry addressed the participants about the importance of supporting Habitat through both volunteering and monetary donations. She noted how the ReStore serves multiple purposes in helping those in need and also keeping building materials out of landfills. At the end of her speech, Perry noted, 'Today we walked 1 mile, we did this to give us all just a peek into the lives of the homeless.The difference is they have no pomp and circumstance at the end of a 1 mile walk, just more walking. Help spread the word about Habitat for Humanity, and let's help the next deserving family WALK through their front door.'
Photos from the event can be views on JSCC's Flickr page:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsccnews/sets/72157644401978784/
View the Jackson Sun video at the following link: http://www.jacksonsun.com/videonetwork/3507791823001 .