Raising Heel Heights To Raise Money For Abuse Victims

They wobbled across carpet, braved cracked sidewalks and even scaled a flight of stairs in high heels for the American Medical Women’s Association’s “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event.

Twenty-six University of Kansas Medical Center students and faculty, all male, strapped on heels and marched a mile around the campus Tuesday, marking the fourth anniversary of Walk-A-Mile. The event raises money to benefit the Rose Brooks Center, a domestic violence shelter, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Female students and faculty held signs and cheered on the participants as they daringly went where few men (but many women) have gone before.

“Domestic violence is an issue close to my heart,” said Jason-Flor Sisante, a doctoral candidate in Rehabilitation Sciences who participated in the march.

“Too many influential women in my life have been victims of emotional or physical abuse,” he said. “I wore the pink wedges I wore last year, thinking they’d be a safe bet, but I quickly lost the fight against gravity.”

This year the participants raised a record $1,400. In the previous three years, participants raised a total of $5,100.