Chelsea Hoag, Campus Carrier Managing Editor
Berry will host a 5K walk Saturday at 10 a.m. in order to fundraise and advocate for those affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Berry College Volunteer Services (BCVS), A New Year A New You (ANYANY), associate dean of students Julie Bumpus and head football coach Tony Kunczewski have been major parts in making the MS walk a successful event throughout the past couple of years.
Bumpus has been involved with the MS walk for 14 years and said when she first moved to Rome and joined the MS walk in 2000, “it was tiny and held at Ridge Ferry Park.”
“Several of us felt strongly that the MS walk would be better served if Berry would approve relocating it to our campus,” Bumpus said. “We asked permission to be the host site and the college granted the Rome/Floyd County MS walk permission to be held on campus. It has been here since.”
When Bumpus started work as the Assistant Dean in the Campbell School of Business in 1999, Kay Gardner’s office was located in Green Hall. At the time, Gardner was serving as the director of international programs and teaching Spanish.
“As the two non-business types in the building, we formed a friendship and I learned that she had been diagnosed with MS many years earlier,” Bumpus said. “As with other people and other causes, if you know someone who has been affected, you tend to get involved.”
Bumpus said that when Kunczewski first came to Berry, he immediately volunteered to help with the MS walk because his mother had MS.
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| Carrier File Photo by Grace Dunklin Walkers participate in the 2013 MS walk. The 2015 walk is on Saturday at 10 A.M. |
Kunczewski has been involved with the MS walk since he first began his career at Berry in 2013.
His mother was diagnoses with chronic progressive MS two years before he was born. When Kunczewski was six, his mother was forced to use a wheelchair. She lived with the disease for over 34 years.
Senior Rachel Flatt is the associate program coordinator of ANYANY and said her first day of work with Bumpus and ANYANY was at last year’s MS walk. Before the walk, she worked with junior Megan Boswell for BCVS. They advertised for the walk around Rome and found Berry students to volunteer.
Flatt feels the need to be involved with MS advocacy due to the passing of her aunt who had MS.
“Growing up, I saw the harmful effects of MS not only on my aunt’s life, but also on our family’s lives,” Flatt said. “When I found out that the MS walk was part of my job description with ANYANY, I knew I was all on board as I wanted to help fight for a cure to MS and at the same time honor my aunt.”
Freshman Kelsey Morkem said she has never participated in a MS walk but is excited to walk with her basketball teammates.
“I’m happy that I could join in and bring awareness.” Morkem said. “I would love to see a couple thousand dollars raised and donated to the organization.”
Bumpus said she feels like Berry is a great fit for the MS walk based on the foundation of “not to be ministered unto but to minister.”
“We are a service and volunteer oriented culture clear down to our core,” Bumpus said.
Registration opens at 9 a.m. and the 5k walk starts at 10 a.m. The funds raised will be given to more than 9,000 people living with MS in the state of Georgia.