Quinnipiac University Hosts 'Walk & Roll'

From Quinnipiac University:

The Quinnipiac University Physical Therapy Department’s fourth annual “Walk & Roll,” a walk to benefit the Connecticut Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2, on the North Haven Campus, 370 Bassett Road.

In addition to the 5k, Quinnipiac physical therapy students will present four children with special electric cars. The effort is part of the national GoBabyGo! program in which toy ride-on cars are modified for kids with disabilities.

The walk is being organized by Quinnipiac physical therapy professors Michelle Broggi and Rose Flammang, who is also the GoBabyGo! coordinator for Connecticut. The students involved are Jenna Mojkowki, Nicole Piccininni and Tammy Nguyen.

“It should be a very festive day,” said Broggi, adding that the cars and parts were donated. “It will be a celebration of mobility.”

The professors and students have worked with facilities department employees to modify three Minions cars and a John Deere Gator toy quad by removing the foot pedal accelerators and replacing them with hand buttons.

Last month, Broggi, Flammang, engineering professor Jose Riofrio and mechanical engineering major Rachel Davis presented a GoBabyGo! Car to Bethany’s Nolan Green, who is unable to walk and talk as a result of cerebral palsy.

Check in for the "Walk & Roll," which will include a raffle and food, begins at 9:30 a.m. The NSCIA is dedicated to protecting the rights of people with spinal cord injuries through initiatives in advocacy and civil rights, government policy and legislation, disability travel, accessible building and universal design publications, research and education and wheelchair and assistive technology.

Image via Shutterstock