Appalachian State University will hold its 5th annual Gobbler 5K on Saturday Nov. 14.
The event, which is hosted by Appalachian and the Community Together, is to raise money for the Leigh Lane Edwards Scholarship.
The Leigh Lane Edwards Scholarship is designed to help students hoping to study abroad. Leigh Lane Edwards, a former Appalachian State student, had a passion for travelling and helping others. She registered to participate in one of ACT’s international service-learning courses, but passed away before it started.
“She wanted to make a difference,” said Allison Crook, the graduate adviser for the event. “This scholarship, in a way, is her doing that.”
Emily Wolschlag, a senior management major and the student chair of the event, said the proceeds from the run are usually split between the scholarship and various local charities and organizations such as Hospitality House, but this year they decided to only support the scholarship.
“This year, the community’s put a really big emphasis on hunger and those types of charities, so we felt like we could give more of the money to the scholarship,” Wolschlag said.
Wolschlag said ACT is unsure if the proceeds will go solely towards the scholarship in the future or if they’ll return to splitting the proceeds between the scholarship and local charities.
Another component of the event is that there will be free cobbler served and a turkey costume contest will be held as well.
“We feel like it’s important to make the event as family friendly as possible,” Wolschlag said. “We want to connect the students with the rest of the community.”
The cobbler will be provided by numerous local businesses, such as Dan’l Boone Inn and Proper, as well as university organizations, such as the Student Government Association.
In addition to providing family-friendly fun, Crook said the Gobbler 5K is also unique because of the competitive side to it.
“We’re unique because we actually time you and we actually have stands for first place [and] second place,” Crook said. “For most 5Ks, people can just walk, or push their strollers or whatever. And you can do that for this too, of course, but if you want to take it seriously, you can do that too.”
The 5K will begin in front of the duck pond at Trivette Dining Hall at 8 a.m. It costs $15 if you register in advance. The cutoff for early registration is Friday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. It costs $20 to register at the event.
Wolschlag believes the event is an important fundraiser because it allows students to get international experience.
“Our university stresses global learning,” Wolschlag said. “This scholarship can help give students invaluable experiences that will last a lifetime.”