UNA student Lauren Schifano, 25, raised approximately $3,100 for the organization Louie’s Kids as she journeyed across Alabama on a unicycle in order to promote awareness for childhood obesity.

Schifano began her journey Aug. 4 at the UNA fountain and 13 days later ended in Gulf Shores State Park on Aug. 17. Lauren’s journey took 14 days and 13 nights to complete.

“I traveled about 40-50 miles a day,” Schifano said, “Training was a big part of my endeavor.”

Training began at 3:45 a.m. and lasted from three to six hours, she said. The weekend training schedule consisted of rigorous training of running and cycling for five to six hours.  

Among the places she traveled were Huntsville, Gadsden, Trussville, Bessemer, Clanton, Montgomery, Greenville, Evergreen, Bay Minnette and Gulf Shores. The total mileage recorded was 400.3 miles. Schifano camped at several state parks throughout her journey, as well as stayed with generous friends and acquaintances, she said. 

Schifano said she raised money through sponsorships, cash donations and PayPal contributions. Some of her sponsors were Clifbar, Borden Dental, Headsweats and Osa’s Garden. Louie’s Kids also donated T-shirts to her cause.

Owner of Osa’s Garden, a health food store in Florence, Rita Rawdon said she wanted to supply Schifano with herbal supplements, as well as a monetary donation.

“We donated coconut water and nutrition bars to Lauren to help (her) stay hydrated throughout her journey,” Rawdon said.

Louie’s Kids is a nonprofit organization based out of Charleston, S.C. that raises funds to help remedy childhood obesity. Their motto is, “We find the fix that fits, one kid at a time.”

According to the official website, the mission of Louie’s Kids is to empower kids to make changes for a healthier and more productive life, to strengthen the future of the communities, to provide excellent stewardship to those funders who invest their time and treasure in the children they serve and to provide employers with challenging and rewarding careers in facilitating healthy careers in children.

Louie’s Kids board member Jennifer Bilbro said the money Schifano raised in the Charleston area to help children overcome obesity.

“Every Thursday and Saturday we offer free workout sessions in a neighborhood park in downtown Charleston that directs kids who do not have a means of transportation,” Bilbro said. “This program has an expert trainer that informs children how to exercise correctly.”

Another program called Run Buddies is enacted at several schools in the Charleston area. Run Buddies is designed to help kids work to run their way up to a 5K goal, Bilbro said.

There is also a trained staff, therapists and nutritionists available to help children lose weight, get to the root of why they are overeating and also provide grocery store tours to encourage healthy and cost friendly purchases, Bilbro said.