The walk benefits those impacted by HIV and AIDS in memory of 1975 alumnus Kevin Todd, who lost his life to AIDS at age 40 in 1997.
Lenape High School 1975 alumnus Kevin Todd lost his life to AIDS at age 40 in 1997.
Yet even now, nearly two decades after his death, students at Lenape continue to honor Todd’s life as they prepare for the eighth annual Kevin Todd Memorial Walk on April 30.
Students from throughout the Lenape Regional High School District are invited to attend and raise money for the local non-profit organization Spirit of the Holidays.
After Todd’s death, his sister, Lisa O’Neill, started a scholarship to honor her brother, which eventually morphed into the Spirit of the Holidays organization that supports South Jersey families who have been impacted by HIV or AIDS.
“All the money from the walk, 100 percent, goes to the charity and they bring it right to the people,” said Jennifer Gaffney, a media specialist at Lenape who organizes the annual walk with fellow media specialist Jaime Fauver.
Gaffney said the walk was conceived when teachers would take seniors to AIDS Walk in Philadelphia every year as part of their health curriculum. Gaffney said students and staff eventually decided to hold a similar event at Lenape in the spring, and in doing so they also chose to honor Todd.
“She (O’Neill) was just blown away by the fact that we were doing this at his alma mater in memory of him,” Gaffney said.
In addition to the walk, Gaffney said students from the school’s National Honors Society will also once again host a free carnival during the walk to entertain young children.
“It’s about getting people out, and anyone from the community is welcome,” Gaffney said. “To make it go along with that theme to have a fun day, the kids are running a free carnival to have kids in the community attend as well.”
Gaffney described the event as a simple, fun way to keep Todd’s memory alive and to continue to raise money for those impacted by AIDS or HIV and their families.
“Although there have been great advances in research in recent years, the people who are still living with HIV and AIDS every day are still suffering,” Gaffney said. “We don’t want to forget them. We want them to be helped.”
The eighth annual Kevin Todd Memorial Walk will take place on April 30 at the Lenape High School track and fields starting at noon.
Registration fees are available on Lenape’s website at www.lrhsd.org/lenapehs.
The entrance fee for the walk is $10, with cash or checks payable to Lenape High School, submitted to the Lenape High School Media Center, Attn: Jaime Fauver and Jennifer Gaffney, 235 Hartford Road, Medford, 08055.
Participants can also check-in or register the day of the walk beginning at 11 a.m.
Those with questions can also contact Fauver or Gaffney at the Lenape Media Center, (609) 654–5111 ext. 3555 or through email at jfauver@lrhsd.org or jgaffney@lrhsd.org.
Students who register for the walk can earn three community service hours.
