The week's events included the Voices of the Homeless panel, which brought individuals who have experienced homelessness in the community to speak with students, the Hunger Auction, which auctioned off various student and faculty contributions and even some students themselves for hunger relief. Finally, the Hunger Cleanup, a state-wide MassPIRG effort, sent students out into the community on Saturday morning and raised additional money for hunger relief.
Combined with the money from last month's Give Up Your Meals Day, the group raised a total of $2,600 for hunger relief, half of which will be given to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, 35 percent to national hunger relief and 15 percent to international projects such as those in Darfur and Zimbabwe.
Though the Hunger Cleanup involves many MassPIRG chapters, the other events were based on the initiative of Amherst's chapter. "To increase student awareness and to help us fundraise, we decided to turn the whole week into Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week," said Channing Roberts-Jones '09, Amherst's Hunger and Homelessness Coordinator.
The first of those events, the Voices of the Homeless panel, was held last Wednesday and brought in members of the Springfield-based activist group ARISE for Social Justice, all of whom are either currently homeless or had been homeless in the past, to speak to students and discuss homelessness.
One of the panel's main objectives was to dispel various myths and stereotypes about homelessness, and each panelist's personal story reflected the numerous ways that people can wind up homeless and the difficulty of escaping that situation.
Yuepeng Zheng '09, who coordinated the event, was excited to work with ARISE. "ARISE has participated in many Amherst College activities and panels; our Outreach Office recognizes them to be an excellent community partner," he said. "We know that their organization is a true grassroots organization built from the ground and has a good sense of the realities of these issues."
The next event was Friday night's Hunger Auction, held after dinner in Valentine Hall and raised over $700. In the weeks prior to the event, MassPIRG collected a variety of donations from students and faculty, ranging from freshly cooked meals to self-defense lessons to a wakeup call from Dean of Students Ben Lieber. In addition, several students were auctioned off as dates, with local restaurants and movie theaters providing gift certificates to go along with the escorts.
Isabel Mahoney '09 worked with MassPIRG to help organize the event and also won two of the items-a show dedicated to her from Mr. Gad's House of Improv and a portrait of herself to be drawn by Jennifer Li '09. "I think that there were a lot of really spiffy items, and it's a shame that we didn't get a better turnout," she said. The event drew about 30 people, but could have accommodated many more. "We're currently toying with ideas to make next year's turnout higher," Mahoney added.
On Saturday morning, groups assembled over the past week went out to local sites to work for the Hunger Cleanup. The concept of the cleanup is similar to a walk-a-thon, in that participants were to ask family and friends to pledge a donation for their time working. The volunteers from Amherst raised $900 total, and also helped out at two nearby sites.
One group went to the Sunbridge Care & Rehab nursing home in Hadley and worked with over 20 residents dying Easter eggs. Though not directly related to hunger relief in itself, the volunteers still raised money for hunger and worked with another important cause in the area. "I felt that the residents of the retirement home appreciated our participation in the Easter event," said Kenny Sparling '07, who organized a group of volunteers from Hitchcock Dormitory. "We had a great time decorating Easter eggs and talking with some of the residents."
Matthew Mascioli '07, who organized a group of volunteers from Amherst Christian Fellowship (ACF), said that the trip was a positive experience for his group as well. "ACF chose to participate in the Hunger Cleanup because we thought it would be a great opportunity to work alongside each other and other students in order to help out in the community. Also, many of us believe that combating hunger and homelessness is central to the message of our faith."
Another group of Amherst students volunteered at the Food Bank Farm, a local organization that grows food both for its shareholders and for hunger relief. Volunteers helped the farm in seemingly mundane ways, such as spreading mulch over a patch of garlic and washing salad bottles, but the farm relies on volunteers for such day-to-day operations.
Cristina Morales '06, who organized a group from the Newman Club, felt that their contribution to the organization would be helpful. "I definitely felt that we made a contribution because I know that the Food Bank Farm always needs volunteers, but that in depending on volunteer work, they keep their expenses low and half of what they grow goes straight to soup kitchens and other places that directly feed those in need," she said.
The week's events were successful in raising a large amount of money for hunger relief, but Jones felt that MassPIRG could have raised more money and promoted their message to more people with better attendance. "With all the events, I think we could have had better turnout," he said. "Mainly for the Voices of the Homeless Panel, not too many came, even though the speakers were excellent. And even though I'm very pleased with how the Hunger Auction went, I think a larger turnout would have made it even more successful."
Jones also said that he was skeptical of the value of continuing to work through MassPIRG for service projects. "I'm somewhat skeptical about working through MassPIRG in the future," he said. "All in all, I'm not sure if the benefit of having the help of a statewide group outweighs the drawbacks of the inefficiency and bureaucracy I see in the organization."