INPIRG volunteers aid local charities

About 20 volunteers from the Indiana Public Interest Research Group split up and spent Saturday volunteering around Bloomington during the 17th Annual Hunger Cleanup. \nEach year, the group focuses on one particular organization, offering volunteers and financial support, said sophomore Ben Leang, one of the event's organizers. This year the focus was on Hannah House.\n A division of the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Bloomington, Hannah House is a maternity home that houses up to 10 women of all ages. It offers housing, food, clothing, childbirth education and life skills training to its residents, said Crisis Pregnancy Center Events Coordinator Jon Russell. \nThe women of Hannah House come from various living situations but are usually from poor backgrounds, Russell said. \n"We want to allow them to see that there is something better for them. That is why everything is beautiful here," he said. \nStaff members and many volunteers keep Hannah House running, said Crisis Pregnancy Center Executive Director Myra Kinser. Volunteers have a wide range of backgrounds and interests and can assist in anything from fund raising to office work, she said.\nThe Crisis Pregnancy Center is moving this month from its Pete Ellis Drive location to the building next to Hannah House. Volunteers spent Saturday aiding in this process. They loaded boxes of files, baby clothes and supplies into a rented moving truck and unloaded them at the new College Avenue location.\nVolunteers working at other organizations, the Salvation Army, Shelters Inc. and My Sister's Closet, spent their time sorting food and clothing donations and cleaning. \nINPIRG is a statewide political watchdog group. Its members work on issues such as the environment and homelessness. They are responsible in part for the recycling bins located at apartment complexes around Bloomington, and they have campaigned against large ATM surcharges, said sophomore Melissa Morris, who headed up this year's hunger cleanup.\nMembers of INPIRG volunteered for various reasons. Some used the event to count toward community service projects for classes. Others volunteered for personal reasons.\n"People take so much. I just have this burning desire to give back," Leang said.