Ball State University's Sigma Kappa sorority filled about 10 trash bags and raised about $300 during its weekend of events Saturday and Sunday.
About 50 members spent 1 1/2 hours Saturday cleaning about one-quarter mile of Highway 3. Philanthropy Chairwoman Paula Roberts said the women found everything from a part of a tractor combine to Taco Bell wrappers to an animal bone. The members threw the bags into dumpsters when they returned to Ball State, she said.
"We found some other unidentifiable stuff," Roberts said. "[Cleaning the highway] is a good way to bond while helping the community."
Sigma Kappa Foundation Chairwoman Katie Hennessey said the sorority adopted the highway segment at least four years ago. One of the sorority's service projects is called Inherit the Earth, she said, and picking trash off the ground was a way to give back to the environment.
Another service Hennessey said Sigma Kappa would do for Inherit the Earth was to rake leaves for the Muncie community's older residents. She said a service project differs from a philanthropy because sorority members do not raise money for it.
"The highway cleanup will help with pollution, littering and will help the community as a whole," Hennessey said.
Sunday, the sorority members also participated in a one-mile Memory Walk at Minnetrista with other Muncie residents to raise money for Alzheimer's disease research, which is one of Sigma Kappa's philanthropies.
Hennessey said the event conditions were nicer than previous years because this same time last year everyone was wearing sweatshirts and trying to stay warm.
"All the women enjoyed it. It was a beautiful day and there was a band," she said. "People from different nursing homes also were there supporting everyone."
Roberts said another difference from previous years is this was the first time the sorority members sold lollipops at the walk in order to raise more money. Normally lollipops were just sold on campus for the cause, she said.
"This is a great way to get involved in the community and do something for Alzheimer's research," Roberts said.
Hennessey said that in previous years only about $150 was raised, but the addition of selling lollipops helped contribute to the increase this year. Another reason is from sorority members getting more donations, she said.
Raising research money is important because if scientists could find a way to stop nerve degeneration, people with the disease could retain some memory, Hennessey said.
Hennessey said Sigma Kappa would sell lollipops on campus the week of Oct. 21.
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