The College of Charleston, along with countless organizations and individuals, will observe National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week November 14-19, 2011 – the week prior to Thanksgiving. The College of Charleston Center for Civic Engagement will host a variety of programs and events during the week to bring attention to and educate students about issues of hunger, housing, and homelessness locally, nationally, and internationally.
To kick off the week, Food for Thought, hosted by the Jewish Student Union, will take place on Monday, November 14 at 12:30 p.m. Then at 5:30 pm, there will be a Poverty Stimulation, where participants will have the opportunity to assume the role of a low income family member for a simulated one month period. The Missouri Community Action Poverty Stimulation is presented in cooperation with East Cooper Community Outreach. Faculty, staff, students, and community members are invited to participate, but registration is required.
On Wednesday November 16, the Center for Civic Engagement and the Jewish Student Union will co-host an Oxfam Hunger Banquet. At this banquet, guests will draw tickets at random that assign them to a social economic class based on the latest statistics. Each income level will receive a corresponding meal: the 15% in the high-income tier will be served a sumptuous meal, the 35% in the middle-income tier will eat a meal of rice and beans, and the 50% in the low-income tier will be served small portions of rice and water. After the event, few participants will leave with full stomachs, but all will possess a greater understanding of the problems of hunger and poverty.
Additional events include service projects with the Lowcountry Food Bank and Sea Island Habitat for Humanity and a documentary showing about a local food desert on America Street.
Students will also have the opportunity to donate dining dollars to Aramark that will be used to purchase as much bulk food as possible for a local non-profit organization dedicated to providing food for those in need. Additionally, blanket donations will be accepted and given to Lowcountry Furniture Bank, an organization that helps furnish the new homes of those who have recently been homeless.
For more information, contact Mary Pat Twomey at twomeym@cofc.edu or (843) 953-0810.
