Gateway

Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Bill Wendl [Click to enlarge]

The 22nd annual Diet Pepsi/UNO Women's Walk took place Saturday at Caniglia Field. More than 850 people showed up to help raise funds for UNO's female student-athletes. By raising nearly $350,000, the 2007 Women's Walk pushed the all-time total over the $3 million mark.

The fundraiser was started in 1986 when women's sports were in dire straits at UNO. It has since grown into one of the largest fundraising events of its kind in the nation.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center joined forces with the Women's Walk for the first time this year to offer a Women's Health Fair. The fair featured booths with female-specific health information on topics such as strokes, cancer and wellness as well as screenings for various health issues.

"The response of everyone involved was remarkable again," Senior Woman Administrator Rose Shires said. "It was a great event and the addition of the [UNMC Health Fair] just added to the overall success."

The walk operates on a team concept where a captain forms a team recruited from family members, friends, neighbors or co-workers who, in turn, seek out additional team members or sponsors. Each walker is asked to raise a minimum of $50.

The money raised by the walk is used for scholarships for Maverick female student-athletes and is the primary fundraiser for women's athletic scholarships.

Longtime community volunteer Marian Andersen was the 2007 chairman of the walk.

Andersen was the commencement speaker at UNO's 2004 spring graduation and received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. In 1984, she was named the first woman chair of the University of Nebraska Foundation Board of Directors.

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