GVBoxCity to give students perspective on homelessness

Courtesy photo / Molly Barnard

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Grand Valley State University’s service and advocacy groups are starting the year off with a bang with GVBoxCity, which will raise awareness of Grand Rapids’ homeless community while also raising funds.

The overnight event, which will be held Sept. 9 and 10, will give students the experience of a night spent without a roof over their heads. BoxCity will kick off at 6 p.m. in the Pere Marquette room with a meal and panel of speakers, which will include a woman who received a house from Habitat for Humanity and a representative from the Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness.

Participants will move outside to the field located between the Performing Arts Center and the Murray-VanSteeland Living Centers for the night at 9 p.m.

Throughout the night, participants will be able to make donations, which will benefit Grand Rapids-area homeless shelters. In addition to monetary donations, students can bring cans that organizations can redeem for deposits or non-perishable food items.

“Experiences like this don’t happen very often at Grand Valley,” said Molly Barnard, president of the GVSU chapter of Amnesty International. “This opportunity will give students the chance to actually experience sleeping outside in a cardboard box for a night, which is better than what some of our community’s homeless has to sleep in.”

Read the full article at www.lanthorn.com.