CofC Students Fight Hunger and Homelessness

The College of Charleston is offering students more than one way to give thanks this November. A campuswide collaboration to mark National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week has begun at the College, with events from Nov. 12–22, 2024. Nearly 10 departments and student organizations are working together to provide hands-on experiences that highlight the complex issues associated with food and housing insecurity.

“We want to try to find an intentional way for students to get involved, whether it’s through direct hands-on involvement, doing the habitat build or coming to the hunger banquet,” says Stephanie Visser, director of the Center for Civic Engagement. “We want them to have that educational opportunity to make sure that they are thinking about poverty and hunger and homelessness locally in this Charleston community that they’re a part of for four years and wherever home is, but also nationally and even globally.”

And that means building an understanding among students that there is not just one kind of hunger or homelessness.

“There isn’t one idea of what that means,” says Visser, “and we really need to approach it from a much wider perspective if we really want to start thinking about more strategic solutions for these challenges.”

Some of the events include:

• Habitat for Humanity Build (Nov. 16): a daylong experience where students are transported to a site to build a home for a community member in order to learn more about affordable housing
• Pop-Up Service (Nov. 18): an opportunity fir students can make “no-sew” fleece scarves and assemble emergency warming kits for the unhoused who rely on One80Place for shelter and services
• HHAW Pop-Up Festival (Nov. 20): a takeover in Cougar Mall full of activities from Charleston Culinary Group, Cougar Pantry, Multicultural Student Programs and Services, Pride Center and CofC Crochet Club. Students can shop in a farmer’s market, participate in a pantry drive, craft sleeping mats and more. 
• Hunger Banquet (Nov. 20): students randomly assigned a place in the world and served a meal that aligns with their random selection. The amount of food received reflects food insecurity on a global scale.
• Weight the Waste (Nov. 21): a student-developed online simulation that shows students how their decisions can impact their food, housing and financial security

A full list of events is available here. Visit the Center for Civic Engagement’s Instagram page to see photos and videos of past events, and to volunteer for upcoming events.