A family of superheroes participates in Appalachian State University’s virtual 2020 Spooky Duke Race and Costume Contest. Photo submitted
Pets joined in the fun, too, during Appalachian State University’s virtual 2020 Spooky Duke Race and Costume Contest. Pictured is Spooky Duke racer Emily Williams, a junior management major from Cary, and her dog, Rhodie. Photo submitted
A family of superheroes participates in Appalachian State University’s virtual 2020 Spooky Duke Race and Costume Contest. Photo submitted
BOONE, N.C. — Participants in Appalachian State University’s 10th annual Spooky Duke Race and Costume Contest, held virtually due to the pandemic, walked, ran, biked, rowed, hopscotched and Monster Mashed for a good cause — raising funds to benefit the work of App State’s Parent to Parent Family Support Network-High Country (FSN-HC), which assists regional families who have children with special needs.
Pets joined in the fun, too, during Appalachian State University’s virtual 2020 Spooky Duke Race and Costume Contest. Pictured is Spooky Duke racer Emily Williams, a junior management major from Cary, and her dog, Rhodie. Photo submitted
Through sponsorships, donations, a silent auction and participation fees, the event raised more than $8,000, with a $5,000 matching grant from The Health Foundation Inc. raising the total to over $13,000. This year, 178 individuals ages 6 to 84 and from across the nation completed either a 1K, 5K or 10K race as part of the event — at their own pace and on their own time from Oct. 19–31.
Emily Williams, a junior management major from Cary, left, and her roommate, Mallory Jenkins, a sophomore psychology major from Sneads Ferry, participated in Appalachian State University’s virtual 2020 Spooky Duke Race and Costume Contest. “We had so much fun!” Williams said. Photo submitted
In addition to the race and costume contest, virtual activities for children, including how to craft Halloween finger puppets and monster bookmarks, were made available via YouTube videos created by senior Morgan Plumley, an elementary education major from Union Mills.
The Halloween-themed fundraising and awareness-raising event is a 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 App State’s Reich College of Education (RCOE).
App State’s Parent to Parent (FSN-HC), housed in 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.
View the complete Spooky Duke 2020 race results.
Kaaren Hayes, director and outreach coordinator for Appalachian State University’s Parent to Parent Family Support Network-High Country (FSN-HC), and her dog donned matching bee costumes for the virtual 2020 Spooky Duke Race and Costume Contest. Photo submitted
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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 State University offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls more than 2,000 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 Southeast, 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 nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
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