By Melanie J. Knox, Opinion Editor

Sign-ups for the Tiffany Hamilton Memorial Run will continue through next week. The 5 kilometer run, sponsored by Students in Free Enterprise, will begin Oct. 18 at 9 a.m. at Elmer Gray Stadium.

Prices are $12 per person and $10 per group and include a T-shirt.

“We really want to get people from every corner of campus involved,” said Lee Martin, senior management and marketing major from Cape Town, South Africa and director for SIFE. “We want to accommodate people as best we can to get as many donations as we can and as many people as we can.”

All proceeds from the run will benefit the Hamilton family as they struggle with the medical debt from Tiffany Hamilton’s two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit.

“The run will be a fun thing to be involved in,” Martin said, “but besides that, it’s a good cause; it’s something that matters. We all value sleep on a Saturday, but this is different. This is doing something meaningful for a family.”

Martin said that so far, very few students have signed up, but many have responded and offered to try to get groups together or come back when they had money.

“We really appreciate their support,” Martin said. “Everyone has change to spare; it’s just a matter of where you put it.”

SIFE has received corporate sponsorship from several businesses including Office Depot and Shakes. The Group will perform the morning of the run, and food vendors will be available as well.

Student Action Leadership Team has offered to send as many volunteers as needed, and representatives from the Abilene runner’s club will be present.

“This benefits the school, the community and the family,” Martin said. “It’s just a conglomeration of goodness.”

Hamilton, a member of SIFE, died Sept. 3 after a bout with cancer. SIFE had previously considered putting together a run for charity as a part of their commitment to community service, and following her death wanted both to recognize her and help her family with medical debt, said Billy Smith, sophomore marketing major from San Antonio.

SIFE, an organization of about 40 business students, trains students to put their ideals into practice and helps college kids know how to do business, Martin said.

Over 1,500 SIFE organizations exist worldwide with over 880 in the United States.