Colleen Ly is always looking for ways to get involved with charitable causes – especially events sponsored by N.C. State.
That’s why this week’s Nearly Naked Run caught the sophomore’s attention.
“This [race] is something I wouldn’t have expected N.C. State to be involved with,” said Ly, who is majoring in design studies. “Running around campus with no clothes on for a good cause? Who wouldn’t want to join?”
The first Nearly Naked Run for charity will take place Thursday at 9 p.m. in the Brickyard. NCSU racers will join other students who will also participate in the event at their respective universities.
Students will strip down to their underwear, or until they are “nearly naked,” before the start of the nearly mile-long run. The clothes the students shed pre-race and any additional clothes students bring to the event will be donated to the Raleigh Rescue Mission, a local homeless shelter.
The exact route has yet to be determined, but the course will mostly be on campus.
The event is free and is sponsored by Wiggio, an online collaboration tool for organizations to orchestrate events and facilitate communication.
Dana Lampert, founder and CEO of Wiggio, said he wants the event to be a student-led initiative, and his company chose NCSU to be one of the participating schools because of its significant Wiggio user population. Those users have meant great publicity for the run, he said.
“We went to schools that really knew about the tool and used it often,” Lampert said. “At N.C. State we found that thousands of students are using Wiggio, and we decided to take advantage of that.”
Lampert said he would love to see the Nearly Naked Run become a recurring event every semester.
At press time, more than 550 students said they plan to attend on the Nearly Naked Race’s Facebook page.
According to a press release, the run aims to “show the power, effectiveness and ease of building groups for a purpose; to mobilize for a good cause and to provide students with an opportunity to take a break from studies and have fun.”
Kathryn Mogg, a senior in communications, said she is very excited about the run.
“I’m doing the event because school and stress is kicking my butt right now, and I just saw it and thought it would be a fun, free way to give myself a necessary relaxation break for the week and put a smile on my face,” Mogg said.
Mogg called the charitable aspect of the Nearly Naked Run an “added bonus” to the event.
“I certainly plan on bringing something to donate. I am always happy to help out with a charitable cause,” Mogg said. ”I hear it’s going to be quite chilly that night, but I’m not going to let that stop me!”