Camping for a cause

Campout for the homeless raises awareness, money

By: Ben Kleppinger

Posted: 10/2/08

Over 100 students showed up in the Ravine Friday night to donate canned goods, build shelters out of cardboard boxes, sumo wrestle in blow-up suits, eat buffalo wings from Hooter's, watch a movie and raise awareness about homeless people in the local community.

The 2008 Campout for the Homeless, sponsored by SGA, raised more than 100 canned goods and over $1000 for the United Way.

"Nobody chooses to be homeless. It just happens to some people," said Carol Bates, the Associate Vice President of Regional Services for the United Way of the Blue Grass.

Bates spoke to the students gathered in the Ravine about issues about homelessness and what the United Way does to help.

Bates said many people don't think homeless people are really an issue in their own communities. "Sometimes you see the people on the street, and sometimes you don't because you're into your own little world," she said.

SGA's Residence Life Council Programming Chair Emily Newsom said one major goal of the Campout was to open students' eyes to the realities of the world around them. "We have to find some way to entertain them and teach them," she said.

One of the ways the Campout opens eyes in a creative way is through its cardboard house competition, Newsom said.

Students at the Campout competed to build the best makeshift shelter out of cardboard boxes, which many of the students then slept in overnight. One of the winning cardboard shelters was nicknamed the "Tree House" because it had a branch attached to it.

Bates said the Tree House hit closer to home than students probably realized. "I can show you a couple trees in Lexington that homeless people live in," she said.

SGA Vice President of Residence Life Council Sara Spurr said she is aware some people think the Campout makes light of what it means to be homeless, but that is not the intention.

"This is a hands-on, fun way for students to not only become more aware, but also…give back," she said. "The majority of Eastern students are blessed enough to never experience [being homeless] first-hand."

Students in attendance agreed.

"Being homeless wouldn't be quite this nice, but hopefully our donations will help," said Josh Jeffrey, a junior parks and recreation major from Pineville.

"We got Hooter's," sophomore elementary education major Erin Lunsford said. "Homeless people don't get Hooter's."