On Wednesday night, a group of UA students spent the night on the Quad to raise awareness for hunger and homelessness.
The event was called “Sleep Out on the Quad,” and in spite of temperatures that dipped below 48 degrees, it still saw a large group of volunteers.
“We had about 150 volunteers show up for the event,” said Charlotte Brown, a junior majoring in marketing and management, who coordinated the event. “The cold weather may have had some effect, but we had a great turnout.”
The volunteers began by packaging meals for Stop Hunger Now, an international agency that coordinates food distribution to children and families in countries around the world. Due to cold weather, the packaging of meals for was moved inside Lloyd Hall.
“We had a great crowd show up to help package the meals,” she said. “Normally it takes two hours to put 10,000 meals together, but we were able to do it in much shorter time because of all the people that came to help.”
Following the meal packaging, a giant screen was rolled out onto the Quad so those who attended the event could watch “The Pursuit of Happyness.” The movie, starring Will Smith, the movie tells the story of a homeless man’s struggle to rise out of poverty while raising a son and, at many times, being homeless.
Later, a group of volunteers removed their shoes and socks and took a barefoot stroll around the Quad.
“At midnight, about 25 people participated in the TOMS ‘A Walk Without Shoes,’” she said. “We walked without shoes to raise awareness of poverty to show what a difference one pair of shoes can make.”
While a relatively large number of volunteers participated, it was not easy to do.
“Trust me, it was very cold,” Brown said.
After the night’s events were concluded, about 50 students rolled out their sleeping bags or pitched their tents on the quad and spent the night to raise awareness for homelessness.
Volunteers who stayed the night braved a low temperature of 48 degrees and a significant chance of rain, according to The Weather Channel.
Sleeping on the hard ground gave the volunteers a chance to feel what it is like to be homeless.
“My back is definitely sore today,” Brown said.
While it was uncomfortable spending the night with little more than a few inches of fabric between them and the dirt, the volunteers accomplished what they set out to do.
“The event was a great success,” she said.
