Students march through campus to raise awareness about hunger in local communities
A group of 20 people marched on campus wearing orange ribbons for hunger awareness and holding signs with phrases like “ending hunger one step at a time" on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Registered student organization A Mile in Our Shoes hosted the march with the goal of combating the issue of hunger in local communities surrounding Central Michigan University.
"We want to change the community we are a part of,” said A Mile in Our Shoes president Charde Goins. "Our goal is to get people to want to give and to get people to understand that it’s not just a charity, it’s about our community. Sometimes people forget that giving is fundamental — this is something for the campus to open their hearts to and allow them to give and appreciate giving by helping others."
Central Michigan University students gather together for a March on Hunger hosted by the Registered Student Organization, A Mile in Our Shoes on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017, on the campus of Central Michigan University.
A total of 40 canned goods were collected as part of the event. The collection of items will be donated to Community Compassion Network, a local charity in Mount Pleasant that provides to people that suffer from food insecurity. On the day of the march, A Mile in Our Shoes vice president Caitlin Crutcher attended one of network’s mobile food pantries.
“It was rewarding to be able to give back to the community that we call home," said Crutcher. “At the food pantry, we helped pass out goods to residents of Isabella county and I got to help a woman carry some of the goods to her car."
The RSO swiped in participants and they were given an hour of community service for donating the goods and participating in the march. Mount Pleasant junior Jaclyn Prout thinks it’s important to donate time to this cause.
“I need volunteer hours to be a part of my fraternity and I am passionate about ending homelessness and ending hunger,” Prout said. “This seemed like a great way to combine those two things because this event raises awareness and it is a good way to get people involved. Even for people like me, who are very busy with school, it is just an hour of your time and just a little bit of extra food that you can afford but other people can’t."
A Mile in Our Shoes is looking for new members. Students interested in fighting social issues can contact president Charde Goins at goins1c@cmich.edu.
