Emma Kahle

Written for my bi-weekly column “An Occasional Word” in The St. Lawrence Plaindealer, a printed newspaper serving the Canton, New York Community.

When the snow thaws and temperatures start to rise above the 50s, I know it’s time to ditch the treadmill and start running outside again. Every spring my sorority organizes Grill & Chill, a 5k race followed by a cookout, live music, and fun activities. 

Grill & Chill was one of the highlights of last spring for me. Sure, I hadn’t done a longer run than a sprint in a while and felt very rusty. But it wasn’t the sore legs or walking breaks that I remember (though they certainly happened). Instead, it was the excitement of getting to run through Canton, a town that has become a home to me the past three years, while being surrounded by people who share the same love for the town as I do.

This year the event will take place on Friday, April 11th at 53 Park Street. The race costs $10 to participate, which includes a hotdog, hamburger or veggie burger following the 5k. As you learned in my last column, my sorority Kappa Delta Sigma is local. The other three sororities at St. Lawrence have a nationally designated charity organization, but given we don’t, we get the unique opportunity to volunteer in Canton and nearby towns. I love this because it allows us to help the community around us and have a more direct impact when we volunteer. All the proceeds from Grill & Chill will be donated to GardenShare, a Canton-based organization that promotes a local food system that ensures food security for residents across St. Lawrence County.

“Being able to work directly with GardenShare is an extremely rewarding and valuable opportunity for us as an organization,” says Lauren Bier, the co-philanthropy chair on the KDS executive board. “They have a direct impact on fighting food insecurity, an especially prominent issue in our community, and getting otherwise inaccessible resources to those in need.”

Members of my sorority and other SLU students have fond memories from their own experiences at the event. Senior Sascha Botero has made it a tradition to run the 5k with one of her close friends. The two run the course and eagerly await the finishing stretch, where their other friends cheer them on as they cross the finish line. Botero also loves eating the delicious hamburgers each year.

“It was really cool to see all your friends running and participating in the event,” says junior Evan Kurash. “It was a great community building exercise.” While he admits to cutting a few corners on the run, he is grateful he signed up. 

While the event never fails to attract a large crowd of SLU students, this year we would love to have more Canton locals and families join.  

“We’re introducing the fun run this year, which is a way for young children to get involved and make the event be more family oriented!” says Ella Martell, the other co-philathropy chair. By offering a shorter run, hopefully more kids can get involved with the event.

KDS president Ellie Dann echoes the same excitement to see how many people the event can draw from the local community. She remembers watching the magician last year, who’s humor and talent drew quite the crowd. “I remember my friends and I laughing so hard the whole time,” Dann recalls. 

“It’s an amazing event that brings the school and local community together,” says Gracie Nassivera.

Last year, Evangeline Norman spent hours painting a beautiful banner to hang on the porch during Grill & Chill. “One of my favroite memporoies was dedicating my time to making the poster and seeing it hang on the porch for our whole community to enjoy.” on “Now it will be part of KDS history forever,” says Norman. 

Whether you are eager to lace up your running shoes, or prefer just getting to know a group of young women that are passionate about making contributions to the Canton community, we would love to see you on April 11th!