Dan Schryer
Staff Writer
On Feb. 15-16, North Central College will host the Feed the Starving Children’s Feed the Need event in the Residence/Recreation Center. This event will mark the first time North Central will be hosting and directly participating in the event since its inception in 2012.
Spearheaded by the Office of Ministry and Service and the Feed My Starving Children non-profit charity, Feed the Need is looking for volunteers to pack 800,000 lunches over 42 hours. At least 4,000 volunteers are expected to attend the event, with registration still open for hopeful participants.
This event comes at the heels of a long deliberation process between the College and the local community.
“Really the conversation has been a two year long process of discerning what the best way for us to work alongside of Feed My Starving Children would be and what would engage the most members of the community in meeting their mission,” said Whitney Roberts, assistant director of Ministry and Service. “So it’s been a long process, but for us it was a no-brainer once we figured out we could make it accessible for everyone.”
“There are a lot of benefits and hurdles for doing (the event) on a college campus,” added Brian Rainville, director of Ministry and Service. Time constraints forced the event to be condensed to a single 42 hour period, as opposed to the typically three-day range in which the event has been held in the past.
With the addition of an estimated 250,000 meals added to the original workload to be supplied directly to countries affected by Ebola, the event is sure to turn some heads logistics-wise.
“We’re packing 54% more meals in 43% of the time compared to past events,” said Rainville.
To accomplish such a lofty goal, Rainville commends the North Central community in its cohesion and cooperation across departments. “We’ve been in touch with everybody, both from where we want volunteers to come from, from athletics or the education department, or residence life or our office and all of student affairs,” said Rainville. “From a logistics standpoint, we’ve been in touch with maintenance and athletics and risk management, so on that side the campus community has been awesome and really supportive.”
“Even just being around campus there’s a huge opportunity for folks to see who we are and what we’re about and how we treat people and why this is a priority for us,” added Roberts. “I’m just really excited to see our students and faculty come out and do this.”
“President Hammond and his family registered for spots on Sunday evening, so that’s really supportive,” said Rainville. “Campus support has been awesome, from the top to the bottom.”
With an event of this scope a rarity to both the North Central campus and the local community, Rainville and Roberts emphasize the significance and impact of the efforts being made. “We really see this as an event that will actually allow students and members of the faculty and staff to actually partner with members of the community to make a seriously significant impact globally,” commented Roberts.
With a worthwhile cause and an outpouring of support, Feed the Need is shaping up to be a landmark event in North Central’s humanitarian efforts and involvement with the immediate community. “Yes, there were some hiccups and headaches,” said Rainville, “but it (will be) worth it to see the campus come together and do something that’s really impactful.”
Volunteer registration can be accomplished by visiting the event’s page on Cardinal.net through the Leadership Opportunities section.
