National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week starts on Monday! Held every year the week before Thanksgiving, NHHAW is a national endeavor to promote education, action and awareness about hunger and homelessness. We'll be holding a series of events for staff, guests and the community. Below is the schedule of next week's events-- if you'd like to come to any of these, please do! 

Monday 11/16: Offering of letters to elected officials during the Monday Night Meeting, emphasizing the importance of legislative support for the homeless and veterans. We'll also use this time to fill the guests in about NHHAW activities. I'll provide all the materials. This will take place in the community room at 6:00pm.

Tuesday 11/17: We'll host a Community Clean-Up from 3:30-4:30pm. Additionally, from 6:00-8:00pm in the community room, we'll have a viewing of The Soloist (for more information on The Soloist, check out http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0821642/). 

Wednesday 11/18: At 7:00 p.m., we'll host a Candlelight Vigil in the children's courtyard, to recognize those members of the homeless community who have passed in the last year. This is a particularly touching evening.

Thursday 11/19: Day 1 of Dinner on the Mayflower will be from 12pm-7pm at the Save-a-Lot on 12th and Byrkit in Mishawaka. This is a donation drive hosted by U93, and last year it brought in quite a bit of food, winter clothing and personal care items! We'll also have a Young Professionals Against Poverty happy hour at Bar Louie following Dinner on the Mayflower. (Happy hour is the one event this week that guests are not invited to; however, all staff are invited to come spend some time with the YPAPs!)

Friday 11/20: Day 2 of Dinner on the Mayflower will be from 12pm-7pm at the Save-a-Lot on 12th and Byrkit in Mishawaka. We are still in need of some volunteer help for Dinner on the Mayflower to accept donations and pass out our critical needs list-- if you're interested in helping out, please let me know!

We'd love to see you at one (or more!) of these events! This is a great time to engage the community and celebrate our guests. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.