College students to spend night on lawn to raise money for Habitat for Humanity and awareness about local homeless

GOSHEN, Ind. – At least 10 Goshen College students will spend the night of Wednesday, April 18 in a cardboard box on the lawn of campus to increase awareness about homelessness and raise funds for Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart County, during the third annual Shack City project sponsored by the college’s Campus Ministries.

The students will go to downtown Goshen at 6 p.m., with $1, to find their dinner. Later, they will be given a guided tour of downtown Goshen locations by a Habitat for Humanity employee, with stops including The Window, Lincoln Hotel and Interfaith Hospitality Network. Afterward, by 9 p.m., the students will head back to campus for worship and discussion, before spending the night in cardboard boxes on the lawn along Main Street, next to Kulp Hall.

On Thursday morning (April 19) after breakfast, the students will pack up the boxes and head to their classes.

Each student is working to raise $30 to go towards Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart County.

Junior Jess Buller of Goshen, an organizer of the project, said, “We see this as a response to Scripture because as Christians we are called to care for the least. The more aware we are as students about issues of poverty and homelessness, the more motivated we will be to make changes.”

Reporters and photographers are welcome, either to join the students downtown on their tour and search for food, or as they settle in to sleep in their boxes on campus at night.

Editors: For more information about this release or to arrange an interview, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.