College to Take Part in Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

As Thanksgiving approaches, many members of the College of Charleston community are making plans to celebrate the holiday with family, friends and food.

But for some, Thanksgiving is not a time of bounty. It could be just another day of hunger or homelessness.

Each year, the College of Charleston takes part in Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, a national awareness campaign organized by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness.

Throughout the week before Thanksgiving, November 17-22, 2014, students will take part in a series of events and activities intended to draw attention to the plight of the less fortunate.

Spearheaded by the College’s Center for Civic Engagement in partnership with other campus and community organizations, the week of awareness-building and advocacy-related programs includes documentary screenings, philanthropic drives, social media campaigns, panel discussions, poverty simulations and service opportunities in the Charleston community. For a full list of events, follow this link or click on the calendar at right.

Maggie Szeman, assistant director of the Center for Civic Engagement, says the events are designed to expose students to the realities of hunger and homelessness.

“One of the most significant messages we can hope to convey through the initiatives hosted as part of this annual week of awareness is the importance of each individual’s story – that there is a whole person behind each condition. There is a universal vulnerability associated with the issues of hunger and homelessness and each of us, regardless of how susceptible we might perceive ourselves to be with regard to those threats, has a responsibility to take action,” Szeman says. “One of our taglines for the week this year is, ‘If you didn’t, who would?’ and I believe that message succinctly summarizes the social responsibility that everyone should feel about eradicating these issues.”

A few of the events this year that will specifically emphasize the humanity, and the stories, of those facing hunger and homelessness include two screenings of the documentary @Home on Nov. 17 & 18, 2014.

The film showcases the Invisible People Campaign and a Faces of Homelessness dinner and discussion event, which will host speakers affiliated with the Lowcountry Homeless Coalition and United Housing Connections who have experienced homelessness firsthand.

VIDEO: Watch the movie trailer for @Home.

Additionally, students, faculty, staff and community members will have the opportunity to explore the realities and difficult decisions that those living in poverty face on a daily basis through a Community Action Poverty Simulation facilitated by Charleston County Human Services Commission.