Two student groups will partner to host a 5K children’s walk on Binghamton University’s campus to raise funding and awareness for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

BU chapters of UNICEF and SUNY Kids are set to host the event starting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Old University Union’s Tillman Lobby.

The walk is planned to take place on the outer walkway of campus, known as “the Brain,” then cut through the middle of campus — equaling approximately three miles, Arti Fotedar, president of BU’s chapter of UNICEF, said.

UNICEF is an international humanitarian organization created in 1946 that works in more than 150 countries and assists underprivileged children and mothers in developing countries in areas such as health care, education, emergency relief and child protection.

“Currently, about 24,000 children die every day from preventable causes,” Fotedar said. “The ultimate goal of UNICEF is to change that number to zero.”

SUNY Kids, a group of BU students dedicated to alleviating the pressures of children’s daily lives by providing them with fun weekly activities, and UNICEF share the common goal of raising money to improve the lives of children, Irene Rekhviashvili, fundraising and public relations chair of SUNY Kids, said.

“This walk will also help us raise awareness of the issues that many children are facing, around the world and in the very county we live in,” she added.

According to Fotedar, roughly 30 participants are expected to attend the Children’s Walk, and this number is growing as more people register. Both student groups have never hosted a campus fundraiser of this size before.

In order to join the walk, participants must raise a minimum of $5.

Fotedar recommends coming up with creative methods of getting donations for the event from friends, family, restaurants, businesses and schools.

“For example, you can ask for $5 for each mile,” she said. “You can also go back to your high school and talk to people there about donating.”

To register, students should contact BU’s chapter of UNICEF at unicef@sa.binghamton.edu by Saturday.