Student Groups Judged on Design, Awareness and Tape Use
A billion children live in poverty worldwide and 750 million persons lack adequate drinking water, one half of the world lives on less than $2.50 a day, 12 percent of America’s homeless are veterans and 1.2 million high school students in the U.S. are homeless.
(LEFT) Freshmen Jared Riffle (left) and Lawrence Daya help construct the cardboard dwelling for second floor Pickett Hall.
While Wilmington College students spent Friday evening (Oct. 9) constructing cardboard dwellings in a warm, casual atmosphere with music and refreshments, those cold facts were evident as each of the 12 groups participating was asked to research an aspect of homelessness and scribble their findings on their boxes/houses.
Many weathered sleeping in their temporary homes as temperatures dipped into the high 40s knowing they didn’t have to stay all night — their real campus homes were a stone’s throw away.
If the national and international numbers on poverty and homelessness didn’t make an impression, Darlene Pitzer, case manager with the Clinton County Homeless Shelter, gave them a startling local perspective. Since January, the Homeless Shelter has housed 250 men, women and children and served 24,000 meals.
Pitzer said that, for some in Wilmington, a cardboard box would be a step up as she’s aware of persons living with little shelter in nearby woods, “freezing in the winter.” She noted the Homeless Shelter houses persons for up to 90 days while helping them finds jobs and medical care.
“We try to help get them back on their feet,” she said.
The dozen groups at Cardboard Village were judged in three categories: best design of a cardboard dwelling, best awareness message and best use of tape with Delta Omega Theta sorority winning the top prizes for design and awareness, and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity judged for its taping prowess.
Entry fees were donated to the Homeless Shelter.
