News

12^th Annual Hunger and Homelessness Auction Scheduled
for November 18

The 12^th Annual Hunger and Homelessness Auction will take place from 5-6:30 p.m. on November 18 in Marigolds Lounge.

Students from EPH, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing and the Physician Associate Program seek donations from local businesses and the health professional school communities and coordinate a week-long series of events which culminate in a live auction.

The proceeds of the auction will go to local non-profit organizations, which work to alleviate hunger and homelessness. The more than $22,000 raised last year benefited Loaves and Fishes, Life Haven, Youth Continuum, New Haven Home Recovery, the Community Health Care Van, St. Thomas More and Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen.

In addition to the live auction, events planned for this year are a Club Med benefit party, a first year versus second year charity flag football game, and a silent auction. Over the years, items auctioned at the silent and live auctions have ranged from the esoteric- a variety of cooking, music, hobby and sporting lessons- to the highly sought after, such as stays in homes from London to Lake Tahoe.

The week of fun-filled events also strikes a serious note as it raises awareness of hunger and homelessness in the New Haven area. That almost 100 billion pounds of safe, edible food are thrown away yearly by retailers, restaurants and farmers while twenty-five million Americans, including 12 million children, are hungry (source: USDA, 1997) is one of many facts about hunger in America listed on the Hunger and Homelessness Auction's website.

This year's Hunger and Homelessness Auction is sponsored by Dwight Hall, the Committee Overseeing Volunteer Services and the Yale Graduate and Professional Student Senate.

To arrange to make a donation or for more information, please visit the auction's website at www.yale.edu/hhauction.

-Story by Christy Gordon.