Members of the Wisconsin Student Public
Interest Research Group reached out to the community Saturday through
their annual Hunger Cleanup.
The 25th annual Hunger Cleanup
is a national project aimed at fighting hunger and homelessness through
student volunteering and fundraising. The semester-long event is
organized by the organization National Student Campaign Against Hunger
and Homelessness.
According to Rashi Mangalick, co-coordinator of WISPIRG’s
Hunger and Homelessness campaign, the event provided an opportunity to
help poor areas of Madison and to raise awareness about poverty.
“Many
times, food pantries and shelters … have so much to take care of that
they do not have time to do little projects for themselves that need to
get done,” Mangalick said.
A total of 62 volunteers gathered
to serve the Madison area by cleaning a bike path, stocking shelves,
organizing donated clothing and gardening.
Before arriving to participate in the clean-up, members of WISPIRG
worked in fundraising teams to collect donations and contributions for
organizations that work to decrease homelessness. The student group
will work to raise more money before turning it in next week.
“We
raised $5,820, which was way over our goal,” Mangalick said. “We are
increasing our goal to $6,500 and definitely think we can make it just
by reaching out to everyone.”
According to a statement, the
money raised through the project will go to several local, national and
international organizations to help poverty-related areas, including
Road Home, an organization that works to prevent poverty and
homelessness.
The funds will also assist refugees in Darfur,
Sudan, and help provide emergency medical supplies and education for
Zimbabwean girls.
“We would love any help we can get, and it’s so easy to donate … Any amount helps,” Mangalick said.
To make an online donation, visit hungercleanup.org.
