New co-leaders. A new advisor. And competition breathing down their necks.
However, the co-leaders of Fairfield’s Hunger Cleanup will look to once again meet and exceed the achievments that it has obtained in the past.
One such award is the frequent honor of a gold medal from the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness.
The Annual Hunger Cleanup, which takes place on Saturday, April 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., is an institution for the university and the surrounding community.
This year will mark the 16th anniversary of Fairfield’s participation. Fairfield has been participating since 1989 and has been recognized, often with the highest honors, since 1994.
Meghan Flanagan ’05 credits the university for the winning tradition. “The community is generous and we have very dedicated people on the board.”
Jeanne DiMuzio, director of Wellness and Prevention, has participated in the Hunger Cleanup from the very start and said “It’s an opportunity to renew why I work for Fairfield. It’s a spring cleaning encompassed in one day. The Hunger Cleanup renews the relationship with the community.”
Last year Fairfield won the gold medal for raising the most money and recruiting the most volunteers with $12,434 and 400 volunteers. This year the board plans to earn $17,000 and recruit 500 volunteers.
“I hope we reach our goal,” said Crystal Patenaude ’04, who is in charge of publicity and fundraising. “We’re ahead of what we had last year at this time. When you have a bake sale that brings in over $450 you can only hope for big things.”
That is not all the board members have on their mind, however. Last year three seniors who were board leaders graduated, leaving only Flanagan as a leader with experience at this level. Carolyn Arnold ’05, Mo McShane ’05, Cristen Ciriesi ’05 and Patenaude joined the board this year, along with Assistant Campus Ministry Chaplain Rob Cortegiano who serves as the group’s advisor.
“It’s a lot more work than I thought,” said McShane, who is in charge of recruiting. “But it’s for a good cause and a good way to get involved.”
On the day of the event, volunteers are sent out to one of the worksites after getting breakfast at Alumni Hall donated by local Fairfield businesses. After breakfast they go to the worksite for about four hours and then come back to campus for the party, which is held at the Levee and will feature Fairfield’s On the Spot Improvisational group and the band Moonstruck.
Arnold is in charge of the day’s events and is responsible for providing both breakfast and lunch for the expected 500 volunteers as well as prizes for the most money donated.
“When I went out to the businesses to ask for donations I could tell that people wanted to donate, you just have to find them when they’re in the right mood.”
Some of the prizes that Arnold collected for the day include a $300 dollar gift certificate to Bob’s Furniture store, 30 one scoop gift certificates to Ben and Jerry’s, a one day Kayak rental and a free dinner for two at Villa Del Sol.
Even though Fairfield has been the dominant participator in the event for the past few years, this year they face stiff competition from the University of Connecticut.
“The competition that the University of Connecticut is giving Fairfield shows the standard that Fairfield has set. It’s flattery on some levels,” said Jen Hechert, who is the Organizing Director of the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness.
“We went to a conference for the event at the beginning of the semester and UConn told us we were going down. That sparked the co-leaders to continue our tradition of coming in first,” said Flanagan.
For more information e-mail The HungerCleanup@stagweb.fairfield.edu.
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