The War on Hunger Marches to Auburn University
On October 15 th , 87,000 football fans cheered as WFP and Auburn University joined forces in the ‘War on Hunger'. The event marked the first university led-WFP initiative to fight global hunger at the grassroots level.
The partnership was celebrated with a series of fundraising and awareness activities including; a concert by country music star Brad Cotter, a declaration from the governor of Alabama making October 15 th ‘War on Hunger Day', the presentation of the Auburn/ WFP student designed logo, and a formal introduction of the student campaign leaders.
The Auburn initiative is spearheaded by the ‘Committee of 19', so named for the 19 Cents a Day campaign launched last year by WFP's New York office. Student leaders representing the diversity of the Auburn community, all 12 colleges and a cross section of cultural clubs, have taken the lead in mobilizing their fellow classmates. In addition, the Dean of the College of Arts and Science, Dr. June Henton, has set a two year goal of creating a template to enable other universities to implement the War on Hunger campaign on their campuses.
As their first project, the ‘Committee of 19' organized a kick off concert by country pop star Brad Cotter. Cotter spoke with enthusiasm and compassion as he urged concert goers to donate to the 19 Cents a Day Campaign. By the end of the concert over $2,000 had been raised and X children fed for the year.
The following afternoon the ‘War on Hunger' arrived on the football field. The Auburn marching band made way for the Committee of 19 to be formally introduced. The governor delivered his proclamation praising the Auburn/WFP effort, and the winner of the student logo design campaign was presented with
her $250 prize which she promptly donated to WFP. The ceremony was greeted by thunderous applause from supporters of both teams.
The excitement and dedication of Auburn University promises to make this a successful partnership. The initial enthusiasm for getting students on board is matched with an equal commitment to making this a sustainable project with activities planned throughout the year.
Auburn University 's involvement includes administrators, students and professors. Along with the grassroots, student-run campaign, which will include hunger banquets, concerts, sporting tournaments and educational seminars, Auburn professors will be lending their educational expertise. The twelve deans of the twelve separate colleges that comprise Auburn will write op-eds on how their particular college and field can assist in WFP's humanitarian mission. For instance, the education college will focus on school feeding, the nursing school on HIV/AIDS and nutrition, and the forestry school on WFP's tree planting efforts with food-for-work. Finally, the school's administration has lent its full support to the War on Hunger campaign by providing students with meeting areas, access to the school's network of local business supporters, and allowing the students to promote the campaign at events such as the recent football game.
The Auburn War on Hunger campaign is being documented by the university to create an end-of-year report. It will be presented by Dean June Henton at the administrative meeting of Land Grant Colleges that convenes every four years in Washington , D.C. The idea is to spread the campaign to other universities through this campus model. The resulting template will be a useful tool for WFP to use in its expanding student led ‘War on Hunger'.
