Strut your stuff in her shoes

As a stand against domestic violence, DePauw University's Alpha Chi Omega chapter, along with the Putnam County Family Support Services, will be hosting STRUTathon: Strut Your Stuff in HER Shoes, on Saturday, March 10.

The event, which begins at 10:30 a.m., will take place at DePauw's indoor track and tennis facility and is open to the community.

The event, which is staged in relay format, consists of four people on each team who will race around the indoor track in high heels. There will be multiple heats with six teams competing in each.

The STRUTathon is hoping that an open discussion will not only raise awareness on the issue but also help engage people in hopes of helping prevent domestic violence from happening in the future.

"I think the best part is going to be the students and members of the community having a great time running in heels. We will definitely have a lot of laughs," explained Megan Schuman, vice president of philanthropy for Alpha Chi Omega.

"Aside from the actual race, I'm excited to see all the people who come out to support Putnam County Family Support Services because they truly do so much for this community," Schuman added. "They deserve as much support as possible."

Both Alpha Chi Omega and the Putnam County Family Support Services, have been working since November to put this event together, as domestic violence is something rarely publicized and talked about.

"I was inspired by other events such as Walk a Mile in Her Shoes," explained Schuman. "The event encourages open discussion about domestic violence."

The STRUTathon is a community-wide event to help raise awareness about domestic violence. Not only is it a fun event for all to participate in, the winning team will receive $100 to be donated to the not-for-profit charity of its choice. The second- and third-place teams will also receive monetary donations for their respective charities.

The goal is to have around 200 teams as well as to become an annual event for the community.

"I love this event and would be ecstatic to see it continue for years to come," Shuman said. "I would specifically love to see it grow even more as a community event."

Registration is $60 per team of four and is due by Monday, Feb. 27. Each team member will receive a free STRUTathon T-shirt for participating. The fee also includes pizza provided by Monical's Pizza.

"The event is completely open to the community," Schuman said. "We're actually working very hard to incorporate people from outside of DePauw. With the help of Putnam County Family Support Services, we hope to recruit teams from all over the county."

For more information, interested persons may email Shuman at meganschuman_2014@depauw.edu or call 317-362-8564.