By Rachel Crenshaw, student news writer
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.—Campbellsville University’s Carver School of Social and the Social Workers in Touch Can Help Club (SWITCH), are asking for volunteers to experience the life of a homeless person for one night under the shelter of a cardboard box.
This is the second annual Cardboard Nation event to be hosted by the SWITCH Club. This year’s event will begin Friday, April 17 at 5 p.m. and end Saturday, April 18 at 7 a.m. on CU’s Stapp Lawn. The event will be hosted regardless of weather conditions.
The event is designed to illustrate a realistic point of view of what it is like to be homeless. All participants will spend the entire night in a cardboard box provided by the social work department. Participants are asked to bring only a sleeping bag or blanket. The department asks for food, drinks, cell phones, laptops or any other form of entertainment to be left at home.
Misty Willis, secretary for the Carver School of Social Work, said, “We want all participants to experience the true meaning of homelessness which means no personal luxuries or necessities.”
Registration for the event is from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will be followed by a soup line at 7:30 p.m.
Activities at the event include acoustic music, various contests, a scavenger hunt and an opportunity to decorate a cardboard house for the night. In addition, prizes will be given throughout the night including door prizes and contest prizes. There will also be a prize for the participant who raises the most money.
To participate a minimum rent fee of $25 must be provided. All participants are encouraged to reach a goal of $100 in sponsorship money. The social work department said the more money raised by a participant will result in a larger cardboard box for the night.
All proceeds go to Green River Ministries, Campbellsville’s homeless shelter. Green River Ministries provides housing, rent and utility assistance. It will be celebrating its third-year anniversary in August 2009. Since its opening, the ministry has received a total of 217 requests for housing and other services.
Diana Gardiner, president of the SWITCH club, of Erwin, Tenn., said, “Last year’s Cardboard Nation was a great success, and I hope many will come out this year to support our local homeless shelter.”
For further information regarding the second annual Cardboard Nation event contact Misty Willis at (270) 789-5049 or by e-mail mjwillis@campbellsville.edu.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,601 students who represent 93 Kentucky counties, 27 states and 31 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2009 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South for the second consecutive year. CU has been ranked 16 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America’s Best Christian Colleges®. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his tenth year as president.