Over 21,800 Kenosha residents live in poverty. On any given night, 100- 200 people must sleep on the street not only because they are homeless, but because they have no help from relatives or friends, are rejected from the shelters, or have overstayed their welcome. Most people know the issue of homelessness exists, but do little to help. However, today’s generation is young and has much influence. What if one dared to dream of a more caring community? The sad realization is that many students are heavily involved in community service when it matters for resumes or campus activities but fail to continue after graduation. Thus Student Government at Carthage College created the ICARE for the Homeless and Hungry Event, with hopes to expose students to the never- ending need of the community and the countless ways to get involved no matter what age. This ICARE Event was not just about one weekend; it was about becoming someone who cares.

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Participants were asked to sacrifice a little over 24 hours to experience what it is like to be homeless and hungry. Registration was done online, and everyone was asked to attend an informational session prior to the event. Starting in the afternoon on Saturday, March 3, participants arrived at a recital hall reserved on campus where most of the event took place. Participants all received a t- shirt to wear, and were divided into groups for activities. That afternoon, a service project was arranged with a local homeless shelter which needed cleaning. Participants also watched a video on homelessness and created posters to increase awareness in response to the video. Later, participants attended smaller breakout sessions with various topics like conquering stereotypes and supporting government legislation aiding homeless children. That evening directors from three different homeless shelters spoke to the participants about the needs of the community. Perhaps the greatest impact though came from going without food and sleeping in cardboard boxes overnight. March had great weather, except this weekend, when it snowed. The next day included two more speakers and a door to door food collection. At the end of the event, participants were given a free pizza dinner to break the fast while watching videos taken throughout the event. It was a good way to remind participants of the significance of that weekend; how it was now up to them to decide how they would live their life.

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There were three main goals for the program. The first was to bring light to what Student Government planners felt was one of the biggest issues in the surrounding local community. It’s easy to get caught up in campus life or to care for issues on the global level, forgetting to address issues back home where help is just as desperately needed. The second goal was to inspire students to not necessarily limit themselves to the issue of homelessness and hunger, but to open their eyes to their community’s countless needs. The more students who leave college with the passion to care for their community wherever they live, the better our future will be. Finally, the third goal was to encourage other student governments/organizations to start similar events on their own campuses, inspiring even more students to pursue life-long community service.

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As this was the first year a program like this was held at Carthage, the Student Government planners had no idea how receptive students would be to the idea of giving up part of their weekend to go without food and sleep in a cardboard box. The event turnout fully exceeded all expectations. Sixty-three students took on the challenge, though by the end of the cold night, not quite as many were able to complete the night outdoors. Over 100 pounds of collected food was donated to the local food pantry, numerous letters were sent to senators in support of aid for the homeless, and every participant expressed a desire to partake in an event like this next year. Participants all took away something different from the event. One participant commented, “Going hungry is a terrible feeling.” Another said, “I learned the littlest things can be the biggest help.” Non- participants also learned about the event by talking to those they saw sleeping outside. The event brought great collaboration from all different kinds of organizations on campus, anywhere from service- oriented to religious organizations, to fraternities and residence life members. Community members also loved seeing college students so passionate about getting involved.

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The ICARE for the Homeless and Hungry Event was a successful event that Carthage Student Government hopes to repeat again next year. All of the goals for the event were well exceeded, as the event idea was even presented at the student government conference for Wisconsin private colleges. Constructive feedback was taken from both the participants as well as planners, and many new ideas on how to improve the event for next year have been discussed. Planners are looking into the idea of starting the event earlier Saturday to include time for more service projects and ending the event with a discussion over breakfast Sunday morning. Overall, the event goal is still to remain with awareness and inspiring students to care, as all donations will eventually run out, but a passion to serve will last forever.

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This program can be easily adapted to any campus by finding a local problem that revolves around the larger community and finding ways to implement a working community between the university and the town. This program could easily be adjusted to any budget as well, by eliminating t-shirts, using local resources as speakers, and seeking donations for boxes, materials, etc.

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