All proceeds will go towards Wyndham House
After a week of fluctuating weather and rain, Five Days for the Homeless recently concluded on March 24.
The Five Days campaign is a national initiative across university campuses to raise money for local emergency shelters and to raise awareness about homeless youth by spending a few days in their shoes.
This year at the University of Guelph, business students Dan Quintal-Curcic, Nathan Parker, Chris Kimmerer, Lana Elsheikha, and Arthi Manivannan all participated in their first Five Days campaign, spreading the word and collecting donations at Branion Plaza last week.
“Five Days for the Homeless is about breaking the stigma that is associated around homeless youth across Canada,” said Quintal-Curcic in an interview with The Ontarion.“What we’ve been able to do this week is extend a helping hand to those in need.”
The University of Guelph chapter was dedicated to raising awareness and donations for the Wyndham House, whose mission is to “provide youth a continuum of care that includes referrals, services, and residential and educational options,” according to the organization’s website.
In the past year, approximately 750 young people have used the services offered through Wyndham House, which provides housing as well as educational programs for homeless youth in Guelph. The money that has been raised by Five Days for the Homeless will go towards long-term supportive housing for 16 students who are currently enrolled in high school.According to the campaign’s website, all participants in Five Days for the Homeless must follow a set of guidelines during the campaign. They can only accept donated food, only use publically available hygiene facilities, and students must attend all of their classes over the course of the five days.
“I was expecting the hardest thing [would be] sleeping outside, but it was actually just making sure that we went to class and did all of our jobs while not having a home. It was really hard,” said Elsheikha. “Even just showering, we were relying on public facilities.”
For students like Manivannan, who had a seminar presentation on the final day of the campaign, the lack of available facilities to use for hygiene purposes put a greater stress on looking presentable for everyday interactions.For homeless youth who may not always have access to showers, it can be a challenge to look presentable for job interviews or academic activities.
All five students who participated in this year’s campaign were grateful for the support they received from the University of Guelph community.
“It was a long five days, but it was really awesome to see all the generosity that the students were able to provide us, whether it was change donations, food, donating extra blankets, even coming by just to stop and talk about the charity and what we’re fundraising for,” said Kimmerer.
Even though the volunteers have concluded their five days outside, the campaign is still collecting donations and $1040 has been raised so far to support Wyndham House.
Photo by Mariah Bridgeman/The Ontarion.