MACON — The Mercer Student Chapter of Habitat for Humanity is campaigning to raise funds and awareness to fight the crisis of hunger and homelessness this week. The chapter is raising money for Oxfam and Habitat for Humanity as part of the national Hunger and Homelessness Week.
“We got involved because part of our responsibility as a Habitat for Humanity campus chapter is to educate and advocate,” said Colleen Johnson, president of Mercer’s chapter. “We thought that hosting Hunger and Homelessness Week would be a great way to accomplish these goals.”
The main fund-raiser for the event will be held Thursday, when the student chapter will set up a table in Connell Student Center and ask students to donate the money they would have spent for a meal to help fight hunger and homelessness. They are also selling Habitat for Humanity shirts all week. The proceeds from all fundraising endeavors will be donated to Habitat for Humanity and Oxfam (an organization that fights hunger in America).
Friday, the chapter’s members will wear their Habitat for Humanity t-shirts and conclude the week with another fundraising event at The Shoppes at Riverside Crossing on Riverside Drive in Macon from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“When The Shoppes at Riverside opened, they decided to target Habitat for Humanity as their philanthropy, so they do a lot to help us out,” Johnson said. “They will give coupons to any shopper who donates money to Habitat. We will be handing out the coupons and collecting donations.”
On Monday, the student chapter presented the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Their goal in showing the movie to the student body was to raise awareness of what many unfortunate Americans are suffering every day while the rest of the population goes home to a warm bed and a hot meal.
On Tuesday, the chapter conducted a panel discussion, titled “The Reality of Homelessness,” to help raise student awareness.
Wednesday, the student chapter conducted a letter-writing advocacy campaign event. The students wrote letters to send to city, state, and national representatives about the hunger and homelessness crises that Americans face.
The group plans to hold the event again next year.
