Sunday, November 16, 2008

Hunger and Homelessness Action Week

Each year, the GMU Campus Ministry Association sponsors Hunger and Homelessness Action Week, in part because every faith tradition in the association advocates feeding the hungry and caring for the homeless.  This year, HHAW runs November 16-22, so this annual call to action has just begun!  I encourage you all to attend at least one HHAW event, and to commit to doing more to help people who are homeless and/or hungry.  Lutheran Campus Ministry is very involved in planning and running some of these events, and we have other event throughout the year to help the hungry and homeless.  Here's a quick run-down of what's going on this week:

HHAW Headquarters:  North Plaza, Monday-Friday, 11am-3pm
Facebook Group: http://groups.to/hhaw

EVENTS:
Sun (11/16)  Brown Bag Sunday (CCM Chapel, 12-5pm)
Make over 100 brown bag lunches and then bring them to homeless men and women in Washington, DC

Mon (11/17)  Hunger Concert: The Braeded Chord (North Plaza, 12-1pm)
The Braeded Chord has won multiple WAMMIE Awards (Washington Area Music Awards) and have a new CD coming out on November 15th!
Stop by to listen and to get information about Hunger and Homelessness Action Week.

Mon (11/17)  Faces of Homelessness Speakers' Bureau (North Plaza, 1:15-2:15pm)
Hear people who are homeless share their personal experiences with homelessness with us, as well as some ideas on how we may work cooperatively to end this disgrace called homelessness.  This is a powerful event that might alter your perceptions of the people who are homeless that you encounter on the streets.

Thurs (11/20)  Hunger Banquet (SUB II rooms 5-7, 5-7pm)
The Center for Leadership and Community Engagement will sponsor an Oxfam hunger banquet in SUB II, rooms 5, 6, and 7. Get an idea of what worldwide hunger is really like through an interactive simulation.

Thurs (11/20)  SLEEP OUT against homelessness (North Plaza, 10pm until 7am on Friday)
Looking for an experience that will challenge you with the reality of homelessness? Grab a friend and head to the North Plaza on Thursday at 10PM to experience first hand what it's like to spend the night sleeping on cold pavement...
*** NOTE ***: Beth Porterfield will speak at 10:30 PM about her experiences with homelessness. She spent a year traveling the USA voluntarily homeless to understand poverty in different cities and states around the country, and she worked with the homeless in DC and in Anchorage, AK for several years as a caseworker.  (Beth works for Hope Lutheran Church, which is one of the congregations that sponsors Lutheran Campus Ministry at GMU.)  Don't miss it!

Sat (11/22)  Help the Homeless Walkathon (National Mall, leaving GMU at 6:45pm)
We're sponsoring this!  Team up with Lutheran Campus Ministry and tens of thousands of other people to work toward preventing and ending homelessness in our region.  The money raised by our team will benefit Shelter House, Inc., which is an organization in Fairfax, VA that offers temporary housing to homeless families and helps them transition to a permanent home and stable family life.  Visit http://tinyurl.com/6jyf9h to register for our team!  (Bring your friends -- no one needs to be "Lutheran" to come to our events -- ALL are welcome!)  Email lutheran@gmu.edu for more information

ALL WEEK DONATION DRIVES:
Food drive – Donate non-perishable food items to help feed people who are hungry in Fairfax county. See the http://homelessactionweek.
com for a list of drop-off locations.

Project Happy Feet – Donate new socks, gloves, and scarves to help homeless men and women keep warm. Bring donations to the LEAD Office, located in SUB I, Room 222.

Living Water – Living Water International provides clean drinking water for millions of people around the world. Monetary donations will be accepted in the North Plaza.

HIPS – Pride Alliance will collect winter clothing, unused beauty supplies for women (particularly lotion, shampoo and conditioner), and gift cards to CVS and supermarkets to benefit HIPS: Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive. Many individuals engaging in sex work in Washington, DC suffer hunger and homelessness. HIPS is a non-profit organization assisting female, male, and transgender individuals in leading healthy lives. A drop-off box will be in the Pride Office in SUB I, Room 223. For more information, check out the HIPS website at http://hips.org and email Pride Alliance at pride@gmu.edu
Posted by at