Morrisville carnival raises money for human services outreach
NORWICH – The parking lot of Follett Hall at the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus took on a carnival-like setting last Thursday as students in the school’s Human Services Organization (HSO) hosted the first of what they hope to be several fundraisers to make a positive impact in one of the country’s most desolate cities.
Proceeds raised during the event will go toward the organization’s annual springtime trip to Camden, N.J. to offer a helping hand at different charitable organizations in the city of 77,000 people – 36 percent of who live at or below the national poverty level according to the US Census Bureau.
A number of game booths were set up and manned by HSO members during the day. Morrisville students, faculty, staff and other members of the community were invited to try their hand at a number of pastime carnival favorites including “duck pond” and, the big attraction, a dunking booth with volunteer staff and faculty taking the plunge for a good cause.
“We plan to make the trip (to Camden) every year. Our goal is to raise enough money to get back there again this year,” explained HSO member Samantha Carroll, noting the number of homeless and hungry residents living in the city. “It’s the city with the highest poverty rate in the country. You think you know poverty already, and then you go to a place like Camden and your ideas change. It’s nice to be able to go and help them.”
HSO members hope that funds raised during Thursday’s event cover the costs of transportation, and room and board expenses for the six active members of HSO, said Carroll.
According to HSO advisor and SUNY Morrisville Professor Fred Weaver, the trip is always an eye-opener and an experience never forgotten among students. “People here are familiar with rural poverty but most students don’t realize what urban and absolute poverty look like,” he said.
While fundraisers for the Camden trip are planned throughout the year, Weaver said students are focused on the needs of thier hometown first.
“We’ve always managed to donate to our own community,” he said, noting past food drives and volunteer hours for Chenango County Roots and Wings, Chenango Hospice, as well as food pantries and soup kitchens in the county. Last year, HSO turned their attention to helping SUNY Morrisville students who were devastated by flooding in September, 2011. “Students are always encouraged to do charity at home first,” Weaver added. “Then we work our way out to wherever we can help.”
Proceeds raised during the event will go toward the organization’s annual springtime trip to Camden, N.J. to offer a helping hand at different charitable organizations in the city of 77,000 people – 36 percent of who live at or below the national poverty level according to the US Census Bureau.
A number of game booths were set up and manned by HSO members during the day. Morrisville students, faculty, staff and other members of the community were invited to try their hand at a number of pastime carnival favorites including “duck pond” and, the big attraction, a dunking booth with volunteer staff and faculty taking the plunge for a good cause.
“We plan to make the trip (to Camden) every year. Our goal is to raise enough money to get back there again this year,” explained HSO member Samantha Carroll, noting the number of homeless and hungry residents living in the city. “It’s the city with the highest poverty rate in the country. You think you know poverty already, and then you go to a place like Camden and your ideas change. It’s nice to be able to go and help them.”
HSO members hope that funds raised during Thursday’s event cover the costs of transportation, and room and board expenses for the six active members of HSO, said Carroll.
According to HSO advisor and SUNY Morrisville Professor Fred Weaver, the trip is always an eye-opener and an experience never forgotten among students. “People here are familiar with rural poverty but most students don’t realize what urban and absolute poverty look like,” he said.
While fundraisers for the Camden trip are planned throughout the year, Weaver said students are focused on the needs of thier hometown first.
“We’ve always managed to donate to our own community,” he said, noting past food drives and volunteer hours for Chenango County Roots and Wings, Chenango Hospice, as well as food pantries and soup kitchens in the county. Last year, HSO turned their attention to helping SUNY Morrisville students who were devastated by flooding in September, 2011. “Students are always encouraged to do charity at home first,” Weaver added. “Then we work our way out to wherever we can help.”
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