From today's Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Sorority sisters pledge to shed a million pounds
By H.M. CAULEY
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/19/06
The 50 or so women who showed up to walk Arabia Mountain last week have more in common than just a few pounds to shed.
They're also members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, which has taken on an unusual challenge: They plan to lose a collective 1 million pounds.
JESSICA MCGOWAN/SPECIAL
(ENLARGE)
Beverly Robinson (from left), Minnie Baker, Jennifer Powell and Polly Meriwether, members of the DeKalb chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, stretch before beginning their two-mile walk.
JESSICA MCGOWAN/SPECIAL
(ENLARGE)
Sorority members Gloria Gordon-Collins (left) and Jennifer Powell join the effort to reach the national goals of weight loss and miles walked.
The AKA Million Pound Challenge dares its 200,000 members nationwide to lose the collective fat.
Though the official recording of shed pounds doesn't start until January, the sorority's DeKalb County sisters have already started getting in shape for the battle of the bulge.
"We will be asking our members to commit to this program and to start now to get into healthy eating habits," said Charletta Wilson Jacks, a former chapter president. "We want them to start thinking about committing to a specific amount of weight loss."
The "challenge" is to match the goals set by the Chicago Defender, a Windy City newspaper that started the program as a way to encourage African-Americans in that metro area to shrink their waistlines. AKA is based in Chicago.
The sorority has made the challenge a personal one: They want to lose their million pounds by July 2008, which also marks the 100th anniversary of their founding in 1908.
Getting a grip on weight gain, healthy eating and exercise is the goal of AKA's initiative, which is especially relevant in DeKalb.
According to statistics compiled by DeKalb County government, obesity is a problem for 28 percent of the adults in the south DeKalb area, a community with a predominantly African-American population.
"Compare that to the 20 percent of overweight adults in north DeKalb," said Vickie Elisa, director of communications for the county's board of health. "And a big factor in that is inactivity."
The local AKA chapter recently began meeting for biweekly walks to get back in shape. They started at Stone Mountain and last week moved to the Mall at Stonecrest, where they assemble behind Parisian and head off to Arabia Mountain for a minimum two-mile trek.
"We started walking last year as a way to get to know other people, but it kind of fizzled out," said Joyce Gilchrist, who heads the local group's membership committee. "But then about a month ago we started again and last week we had close to 50 show up. We did about 2.5 miles and we moved along pretty well, though the trip back was hard because there were a lot of hills. For the ones who just started getting back into it, it was a struggle. But it was also a good opportunity to reconnect with other members."
Walking is also helping AKA members meet the challenge to walk 1,908 miles before the anniversary celebrations arrive in 2008.
"Each chapter is challenged to walk that many miles," said Trudie Carmichael, who leads the 288-member DeKalb chapter. "We're already working toward that and charting our miles and each member who participates will be recognized."
Carmichael also looks forward to the weigh-ins and getting onto a healthy eating program.
"A few weeks ago, I had a health scare and knew I needed to get into some sort of activity," she said. "I just joined Weight Watchers because I'm not the kind of person to ask someone to do something I'm not going to do myself. I'm going to walk, but not all that fast — I have to start slowly. This is a big challenge for me but I'm really looking forward to it."
While they're walking, Carmichael says the sisters will share more than just diet war stories.
"We'll be losing the pounds but also getting to know each other better," she said. "And that will only strengthen the tie that binds."
Details about the AKA weight challenge are online at
www.aka1908.com.