UA Students Focus on Issues of Poverty During Hunger and Homelessness Week

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama Community Service Center is hosting events for Hunger and Homelessness Week Feb. 18-22 to raise awareness about the effects of poverty locally and around the world.

The Grate American Sleep Out will be held on the UA Quad Wednesday, Feb. 20 from 6:30 p.m.-6 a.m. with students sleeping outside to simulate being homeless.

The Sleep Out will begin with a screening of “Invisible Children” in Nott Hall. The event will feature speakers from the Old Firehouse Shelter in Birmingham, knitting scarves for donation and Adopt-A-Puppy or Kitten.

Volunteer opportunities for the week will be available through the Salvation Army, the Community Soup Bowl and other agencies; students can sign up to volunteer at the CSC in 231 Ferguson Center.

Throughout the week there will be a personal hygiene products drive and students will be able to donate items through student organizations or individually. Items can be brought to the CSC; items collected in the drive will be donated to Temporary Emergency Services.

Additionally, the American Red Cross is sponsoring a blood drive on campus at Gorgas Library Feb. 18-19 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The week will conclude with a Hunger Banquet Thursday, Feb. 21 in the Ferguson Ballroom. Stephen Black, director of the UA Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility, will be the banquet guest speaker. Everyone attending the hunger banquet will draw a number upon arrival for first, second or Third World meals. Admission to the banquet is free.

For more information about Hunger and Homelessness Week events and volunteer opportunities, contact Regina Peña at rapena@bama.ua.edu or call the CSC at 205/348-2865.