Jayne Warren of Westwood, a first-year student at Smith College, will lead a small team of undergrads there April 4 in the Hunger Cleanup, a day of community service that also raises money for hunger relief organizations. Warren, 19, is trying to get Westwood businesses to donate, and by Friday three already had - Chill, the Colonial Barber Salon, and Decadent Dog. The cleanup, a national event, is a project of the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness. To give to Warren's team, go to www.hungercleanup.org, click donate, and search for her name.
Q: How did you get involved with the Hunger Cleanup?
A: I'm involved with MassPIRG, which stands for the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group. It pretty much deals with social issues - health reform, education, voter registration. But they're also really concerned with hunger and homelessness, and so they do this event every year called the Hunger Cleanup, which they've been doing for 25 years, since 1984. They try to get a lot of schools involved - they have 100 colleges right now.
They gather a bunch of 5-people teams who try to get sponsored to volunteer for a whole day, so that you're able to give both time and money. It's really great - a two-pronged effort to try to help.
Q: How many people are hungry in Massachusetts? What is the extent of the problem?
A: It's getting worse, a lot worse. I know that the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts had a 17 percent increase in the last 6 months alone in food requests. I think a lot of that is because of the recession and people getting hit pretty hard. ... People have misconceptions over poverty, and why people are in trouble. Actually, about 26 percent of people who are homeless still have a job - they just don't make enough to support themselves in terms of having a home.
Q: Have you done this kind of hunger or homelessness work before?
A: I haven't, actually. This is my first year getting involved with MassPIRG, and I really like it. They're very focused on the community, local communities.