Hastings College students will have the opportunity to make a difference during Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, Nov. 14-19, through a variety of events. Community members are invited to participate.

Friday, Nov. 14 – Open Table sandwich lunch making and concert by the Christian band Vota (formerly Casting Pearls)  

The public is invited to join students, staff, and faculty members in making sandwich lunches for the Open Table, from 6 to 7 p.m., in the Daugherty Center. The Open Table is a local organization dedicated to feeding the hungry and ending hunger in Hastings. The Hastings College Student Association and Sodexo Food Service are providing funds and donations.

The Christian band Vota will perform in concert at Kiewit Gym from 7 to 9 p.m. Guests will be admitted with a canned food donation. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Music samples are available at VOTAband.com. Other acts include Todd Reese (www.myspace.com/reesetodd) and So Long Forgotten (www.myspace.com/solongforgotten). 

Attendees will be able to engage in advocacy for various programs such as Food 4 Thought, the local “backpack” program that feeds hungry children and their families over the weekend (sponsored by Hastings College Child Defenders), and the largest advocacy group in the world—the ONE Campaign.
The event is sponsored by Hastings College Students against Hunger and Homelessness and First St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Hastings. 

Student leaders are Erin Hallstrom, senior, daughter of Robert/LuRAe Hallstrom, Syracuse, Neb.; Anna Mullen, junior, daughter of Shawn/Sharilynn Mullen, Des Moines, Iowa; and Joel Niemann, senior, son of Roger/Patricia Niemann, Lincoln, Neb.

Faculty sponsor is Rev. Dr. Jean Heriot, associate director of vocational discernment and service learning and assistant professor of religion and sociology. Church sponsor is Rev. Adam White, associate pastor of First St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. 

Tuesday, Nov. 18 – Hunger Banquet

Community members are invited to join students, staff, and faculty members in a Hunger Banquet from 6 to 8 p.m. in Hazelrigg Student Union. Cost of the banquet is $2 for non-Hastings College students and employees.
 

Oxfam, an international group who works to find solutions to poverty and justice, provides this description of a Hunger Banquet:

Guests will draw tickets at random that assign them each to either a high-, middle-or low-income tier and receive a corresponding meal. The 15 percent in the high-income tier are served a sumptuous meal. The 35 percent in the middle-income section eat a simple meal of rice and beans. The 50 percent in the low-income tier help themselves to small portions of rice and water. (High-, middle-, and low-income statistics used in the Oxfam America Hunger Banquet event are based on the World Bank Development Indicators 2007.) Guests can also assume characterizations that describe the situation of a specific person at the income level to which they have been assigned. Finally, all guests are invited to share their thoughts after the meal.

The banquet will provide participants a greater understanding of the problems of hunger and poverty.

Sodexo Food Service is donating food for the event and Hastings College Students against Hunger and Homelessness are coordinating the event.

Student leaders include: Meggan Lloyd, senior, daughter of Richard/Monica Lloyd, Hastings, Neb.; Anna Mullen, junior, daughter of Shawn/Sharilynn Mullen, Des Moines, Iowa; and Victor Short, junior, son of Daniel/LaDonna Short, Salida, Colo.

Faculty sponsor is Dr. Rev. Jean Heriot. Contact her at jheriot@hastings.edu,  (402) 461-7770 to sign up to attend the banquet, or for more information. Deadline for sign up is Monday, Nov. 10, at 5 p.m. 

Wednesday, Nov. 19 – “One Campus, One Community Luncheon

The Hastings College Vocation and Values Program will host a “One Campus, One Community,” luncheon from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., in Hazelrigg Student Union, Rooms A and B. 

Guest speaker will be Rev. Carol Windrum, director of Peace with Justice Ministries of the Nebraska Conference of the United Methodist Church. She will address “Jesus and Strawberries: Looking at Hunger Through Eyes of the Privileged.”

For the past 25 years, Windrum has dedicated her time working for peace with justice within the faith community in Nebraska and across the country during two national mission tours. In 2005, she was invited to be part of a Bread for the World delegation to be a peaceful, prayerful presence in Scotland during the G8 Summit dealing with global poverty.
 
In 2007, Windrum received the Gandhi Award for Social Justice and Social Action from the University of Nebraska, Omaha School of Social Work.

 “One Campus, One Community” luncheons are funded through the Lilly Endowment Inc., to encourage communication between the college and Hastings community. Approximately 70 local community leaders including social service organizations, ministers, and campus leaders, faculty and students attend. The luncheons are by invitation only.

For more information contact Dr. Jean Heriot at 402-461-7770 or jheriot@hastings.edu.
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