Two sisters from the Tri Delta sorority at Towson University are dedicating their summers to a new challenge. Towson alumna and Tri Delta member Kathy Davis is participating in the 4K for Cancer this summer by running from San Francisco, Ca. to Baltimore. One of her sisters, junior Charlotte Ridgeway is participating similarly in a bike tour this summer from Baltimore to San Diego, Ca.
Davis learned about the run from one of her fellow sisters who participated in the 4K for Cancer bike ride in 2011. Ridgeway signed up for the bike tour in November and has been training and fundraising ever since.
Ridgeway’s bike tour will take 70 days. She is riding with a group of college-aged students on a 4000 plus mile bike ride, and will start her journey June 2 and will arrive in California on August 10. Each rider must raise $4,500, about a dollar for every mile, for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.
Ridgeway said they give support to young adults with cancer and hold both the run and bike tour and offer numerous scholarship opportunities.
Davis’ run is a relay-style run, 12 miles a day in one-mile increments. All together she will run 360 miles. The rest of her journey is by van to visit patient homes and hospitals and host cancer education programs.
After graduating in January, Davis said she felt lost and wanted to dedicate her time to something meaningful. In college, she spent a large portion of her time doing schoolwork and participating in various organizations, primarily Tri Delta. This work required her to be socially and philanthropically active.
“I was looking for a sense of purpose and something to dedicate myself to,” Davis said.
Davis has completed some volunteer work, but the philanthropic aspect of this program appealed to her, she said. She is pursuing a career as an event planner for a non-profit organization
The run is also giving out two scholarships that come directly from the money she raises with her team.
Davis has been training for the run she got accepted only about two weeks ago. In two weeks, she is up to running three miles, she said, and is proud of it.
“I want to push myself to do something I’ve never done before,” she said.
Both girls have devoted a great deal of their time to fight cancer. With Tri Delta’s philanthropy being St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the sisters have spent hours baking, crafting and tweeting to raise money for the children at St. Jude.
Davis said it was Ridgeway who inspired her to apply for the run, and that she is one of the most inspiring people she has ever met.
“I am determined to make each summer better than the last. I want to spend a summer smiling and laughing with people who care about something bigger than themselves,” Ridgeway said on her Facebook page.