App State’s 2019 Spooky Duke raises over $24K for children with special needs

BOONE, N.C. — On a cloudy and relatively mild Saturday late in October, costumed creatures gathered on the campus of Appalachian State University for the ninth annual Spooky Duke 5K/10K Race and Costume Contest.

This year, 363 walkers and runners participated, and 75 volunteers helped make the event a success. With sponsorships, donations and participation fees, the event raised over $14,000 in proceeds to benefit the work of Appalachian’s Parent to Parent Family Support Network-High Country (FSN-HC), which assists regional families who have children with special needs.

A $10,000 matching grant from the Health Foundation Inc. raised the total raised to over $24,000 — about $3,000 more than last year.

The Halloween-themed fundraising and awareness-raising event is a USA Track & Field (USATF)-certified 5K and 10K race with a free costume march and contest in which children, adults and pets can all show off their costumes and share in the fun. Spooky Duke is named in honor of Dr. Charles R. Duke, event sponsor and former dean of Appalachian’s Reich College of Education (RCOE).

Appalachian’s Parent to Parent (FSN-HC), housed in the RCOE, provides free support and information to families who have a premature baby or a child with a disability, an emotional or behavioral challenge, a mental illness or a chronic health condition, and also assists families who are grieving the death of a child. The program serves Alleghany, Ashe, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey counties.

For more photos of the event, see the albums on the Parent to Parent FSN-HC Facebook page.

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About Parent to Parent Family Support Network-High Country

Parent to Parent Family Support Network-High Country (FSN-HC) provides free support, caring connections, information and hope to families who have a premature baby, a child with a disability, an emotional or behavioral challenge, a mental illness or a chronic health condition, and to families who are grieving the death of a child. The program serves seven counties in Western North Carolina: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey. Parent to Parent FSN-HC provides information and tools to help families see the possibilities for their children and turn that potential into reality. Learn more at https://parent2parent.appstate.edu.

About the Reich College of Education

Appalachian offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls approximately 2,400 students in its bachelor's, master's, education specialist and doctoral degree programs. With so many teacher education graduates working in the state, there is at least one RCOE graduate teaching in every county in North Carolina. Learn more at https://rcoe.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the state of North Carolina, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls more than 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.