The first stop of our Hunger in the Homeland Tour takes us to Lakeview, Oregon.
Anybody who knows the infamous Kelly Fitzpatrick has heard a million and a half stories about this little town in the middle of nowhere. I now finally have the chance to experience it for myself.
For those of you who do not know what Hunger in the Homeland is, it is your lucky day because you are about to find out.
First you have to know that I am a member of an international colligate group called Students in Free Enterprise (Here on known as SIFE). SIFE strives to make the world a better place through sustainable business practices and free enterprise. This is kind of along the same theory of, you give a man a fish and he will eat for a day but if you teach a man to fish, he can eat for a lifetime. For more information you can check out the official website at www.sife.org. It is a pretty cool organization.
One of the current issues that SIFE chapters in the United States are trying to tackle is hunger. Last year Oregon State University SIFE was recognized at a National level for our efforts, winning the overall competition for Campbell Soup’s Let’s Can Hunger Challenge. During the 2009 – 2010 school year, OSU students raised over 60,000 pounds of food for local food banks and created awareness campaigns on this issue. In late spring, the Oregon State University SIFE chapter pledged to continue our efforts with a five-year commitment to help end childhood hunger.
Last summer a group of eight OSU SIFE students traveled around the country looking at innovative hunger solutions and helping with emergency relief efforts. (Some of you might remember that I was gallivanting around Europe during this time!)
This summer takes us back across the country from Oregon through the Deep South to Washington DC and back. We are still looking for innovative hunger solutions that we can bring back to Oregon and assisting with emergency hunger relief efforts. This year, we are also raising awareness about this national issue with interactive presentations and helping to start food drives on a local level. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments or email me at pendergk@onid.orst.edu.
Our journey will last for about five weeks. We are stopping in cities in Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Washington DC and Pennsylvania.
One thing is for sure; this is going to be a very interesting summer.
I stumbled upon this accidentally, but I am glad that I did. What you all are doing is something that has been a concern in the United States that needs to be addressed. I am an avid blog reader, but I have never read a blog quite like this. I am can't wait in anticipation of the next post of your efforts.
ReplyDeleteI an just curious though if there was a blog to the previous year's trip. I would love to read that.
I also couldn't find the link for the SIFE official website. It sounds like a very passionate and ambitious organization that I would like to know about.
Have safe and fun travels!
Jake - The website for OSU SIFE can be found at http://oregonstate.edu/groups/sife/
ReplyDeleteKim - Thank you for 1. referencing me on here and 2. calling me infamous. I'm so sad that I wasn't there to experience your first trip to my lovely hometown with you, but now that I know you love it, I'm sure we'll venture back at some point :D Have fun! Good luck fighting Hunger!
Hello Jake.
ReplyDeleteThere is a blog from last year's efforts. It can be found at http://hungerinthehomeland.blogspot.com/. This year's posts are being added to it too by a variety of students. It is nice to get an array of different perspectives.
Thank you for all of your support!
-Kim