2008 Woodie Awards
Clothes collected for charity
Fraternities unite to provide basic needs for the homeless
By Mae Kerr
Rocket Contributor
Issue date: 2/24/06 Section: News
|
The project consists of a clothing drive, followed by volunteering at local organizations in the Butler and Slippery Rock communities, which will take place next week.
The entire Slippery Rock University Greek community is taking part in the service project.
"This is the perfect opportunity for the Greeks to get involved with the community and contribute their time," said Lorraine Stubbs, coordinator of Freshman Leadership and Greek Affairs.
Drop off stations for the clothing were at the University Union, Boozel and Weisenfluh dining halls, and the Center for Student Involvement & Leadership. Bins were set up to collect the various donations, which included all new or gently used clothing items along with warm blankets and diapers.
Several different organizations will be receiving donations and volunteer work from the SRU Greek community. A few organizations include the Community Action Program, Butler County Human Services, Lake View Helping Hands, Grace Community Food Pantry, First English Lutheran Church, and St. Marks Lutheran Church.
This is the Greek community's first year to coordinate a Homeless Awareness week on campus.
"We hope to continue this project every year and hopefully expand it, to make more of an impact," said Joe Hall, graduate assistant of Greek Affairs.
Homelessness is a circumstance in which a person does not have a long term place of residence.
It has proved to be a growing epidemic due to low wages, soaring housing costs and cuts in federal assistance for housing programs and services.
Food pantries and shelters across the nation are forced to turn away those in need everyday, due to lack of resources.
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of many federal agencies that fund programs to help the homeless.
These programs are managed by local organizations and provide those in need of assistance with a wide range of services. HUD's mission is to increase access to affordable housing by working with community organizations with necessary resources.
More than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year in the United States, with 90,000 of those people in Pennsylvania alone, according to studies provided by the National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness.
SRU is a member of the National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness.
