Body Benefits
UNO students host a flurry of events to benefit the body.
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From the Spring 2016 UNO Magazine – Explore other articles
Breast Cancer Awareness
That was particularly true in October, also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when UNO was home to a number of fundraising and awareness events.
The month started with the first public event at UNO’s Baxter Arena: the 22nd Annual Susan G. Komen Race. The 5k race/walk attracted around 10,000 participants, raising awareness about breast cancer while honoring breast cancer survivors. The 2015 race raised more than $550,000 for breast cancer research.
Other Susan G. Komen events organized on campus included the “Bench Press for Breast Cancer” contest held at HPER and “Rock for Cancer” at the Sokol Auditorium in South Omaha. In the Bench Press contest, participants paid $5 each to see who could perform the most repetitions with a 45-pound bar.
The Zeta Tau Alpha sorority also held its annual “Think Pink Week,” a series of events including “Kiss Away Cancer,” “Save A Life – Pie A Zeta,” and a pancake feed. Also, throughout the week, male students competed to be the “King of Think Pink Week” hoping to encourage the most people to donate to the cause while wearing their own personally decorated bra.
“We work hard to promote awareness both on campus and in the community through workshops, fundraising and survivor recognition,” Jenna Saraka, the sorority’s Think Pink chairperson, told The Gateway.
While breast cancer awareness is typically a high profile cause, other groups on campus are raising awareness for lesser-publicized causes.
Organ Donor Awareness
For example, UNO PRSSA, the UNO Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter, was recognized as the nation’s top chapter in 2015 and has received numerous awards for their campaigns dedicated to organ donations.
Last year, UNO PRSSA partnered with the Nebraska Organ Recovery System (NORS) to host “Journey Beyond Yourself.” The goal of the event was to increase the number of registered donors by showing students how quick and easy it is to become an organ donor. Organ donors and recipients spoke about their experiences to students, faculty and staff.
The campaign placed second nationally in PRSSA’s National Organ Donor Awareness Competition. MaverickPR will be competing in the competition again this spring with a newly named campaign.
"Be The Match On Campus"
There is also the Maverick chapter of “Be The Match On Campus,” which is in its first year at UNO. “Be The Match” is dedicated to increasing the number of registered bone marrow donors in the community. The organization hosted its inaugural sign-up event at the HPER Center in November. Students showed up to fill out paper work and take a few quick cotton swabs to register as an official bone marrow donor.
The keynote speaker at the event was UNMC student Tom Blount, who was asked by Be The Match to donate his bone marrow in 2014.
A very small percentage of those who register are ever called to donate. Blount was one of the few who received the call, asking for help for an 11-year-old girl.
“They say ‘There’s someone out there that needs you,’” Blount said. “From my own experience, getting that call really puts it in perspective.”
Be The Match On Campus continues to be active on Facebook and Twitter and the group plans to host more events in the future.
De-Stress Fest
Even when stressed, UNO students find ways to give. During the “De-Stress Fest” that took place in December during finals week, the UNO community came together to contribute to a Diaper Drive for the Lydia House.
Maverick Food Pantry
The Maverick Food Pantry also has been active in soliciting donations for its shelves as it tries to eliminate hunger in the UNO community. It participated in the 24-hour Omaha Gives! campaign in November and in a “Reverse Trick-or-Treat” in October.
For the latter initiative, volunteers traveled around campus “trick-or-treating” to collect donations from university buildings, offices and departments. Volunteers were divided into two groups: “Hamburger Helper” and “Campbell’s Chunky Soup,” which coordinated with two costumes worn by group leaders. More than 3,600 non-perishable food items and $200 was donated to the pantry. That earned the pantry the Community Service Program award for the Midwest Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (MACURH) region for the month of October.
Just Can It!
A related effort has had even more success collecting food for those in need. UNO’s Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity hosted its 12th annual Just Can It! fundraiser in April, teaming with The Salvation Army to solicit money and non-perishable food items. That was done by fraternity members who slept outdoors in cardboard homes at nearby Crossroads Mall.
More than 13 pallets of food were collected. The previous year, more than 34,500 food items were collected.