BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT) – At the end of March, the Brockway chapter of the National Honors Society led a walk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome awareness. The walk allowed the chapter to raise $3,435 to donate to Penn Highlands DuBois.
Madison Barefield and other members of Brockway’s chapter of NHS lead the SIDS Walk.
The amount raised and the turnout surprised the organizers. Over 90 people participated.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Brockway Area Junior-Senior High School senior Austin Bullers. Bullers is the president of Brockway’s National Honors Society and worked with other members to make the walk happen.
The walk went from the school to the Brockway Drug parking lot, where a picture was taken. The participants returned to the school for some snacks. Community members joined Brockway students and staff at the event.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is when a baby, generally less than a year old, dies during sleep. Frequently, there is no discernable cause for the baby’s death. The Centers for Disease Control have infant sleep guidelines on its website, but with so many deaths still listed as “unknown cause,” the specter of SIDS haunts parents throughout the first year of their child’s life.
Brockway’s chapter organized the walk when a SIDS death hit a family involved with the school.
“I felt like, as president of National Honors Society here, I had to do something,” Bullers said. “Service is one of the four pillars of the society, and this was a way to honor that faculty member’s loss as well as raise money for the NICU at Penn Highlands.”
Bullers and his mother, Carla, made ribbons to hand out for the walk. Callie Barber and Jordan Faith, both National Honors Society officers, made signs for the walk. People driving along Main Street in Brockway beeped in support.
Around 90 Brockway community members turned out for the SIDS Walk.
“I want people to know that this cause is out there and raise awareness,” Bullers said. “I am very proud of the amount we raised.”
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