Many University students feel too old to dress up and go trick-or-treating on Halloween, and some just don’t have a good reason to go.
But this year, two student groups are giving all students the chance to dress up for Halloween and help the community.
Tonight Alpha Phi Omega, a campus-based service organization, and OSPIRG will be collecting canned food, which will be donated to FOOD For Lane County, the second largest food bank in Oregon. The groups will be knocking on doors in neighborhoods surrounding the campus.
Alpha Phi Omega is meeting at 6 p.m. in the visitor’s parking lot at the corner of East 13th Avenue and Agate Street, while the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group will meet at 5:30 p.m. by their office on the EMU’s ground floor.
Alpha Phi Omega Media Relations Chairman Cory Portnuff said the two organizations are not working as a team, but they have split up the neighborhoods they are going to cover to reach as many people as possible.
Portnuff said his group has done this project for the last three years.
“In the past we have had up to 40 volunteers and collected up to 800 pounds,” he said. “This year we are aiming for more.”
Portnuff said this project is good for students to give back to the community that supports them.
Marie Tallant, the coordinator for OSPIRG’s Hunger and Homeless campaign, said the first stage of its campaign, which includes the Halloween project, is meant to create awareness about hunger and homelessness.
“This program is a fun way to help people and get involved in hunger issues,” Tallant said.
OSPIRG is trying to get its name out in the neighborhoods, Tallant said. OSPIRG volunteers will also pass out flyers for the events they are sponsoring during National Hunger Awareness Week in November.
Tallant added that many Oregonians deal with hunger.
“Hunger is not just a problem in Africa,” she said.
According to Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s Governor’s Food Drive 2003 Web site, Oregon has the highest hunger rate in the nation. Each month, an estimated 60,000 children in Oregon receive an emergency food box. The Web site also states that about 23 percent of Lane County residents receive emergency food boxes.
Each group is encouraging volunteers to dress up for Halloween, but it is not required for participation.