The IU Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship will host a world hunger awareness fundraiser at the IMU bowling alley Sunday.
The “Bowl-A-Thon” is partnered with feedONE, a Missouri-based organization aimed at ending world hunger in poverty-stricken countries. After months of raising money, Chi Alpha will go bowling Sunday, where prizes will be given for whoever raises the most money.
“The goal of our event is to raise awareness for world hunger,” Chi Alpha member Hayden Mills said. “FeedONE is an organization we’ve been in contact with for a while. We usually work with them on a weekly basis. For every $10, a child is fed for a whole month.”
Mills said Chi Alpha works within what they call “core groups” in the effort to gain donations for feedONE.
“For this event specifically, each core group was challenged to raise as much money as possible,” he said. “It’s going to be cool to see who raised the most because it’s sort of become a competition between us all. We all want to raise the most.”
Mills said the goal of the fundraiser, in addition to raising awareness for world hunger, is to fund a trip for students to travel to Tanzania where they will build a kitchen for those in need.
“The amount we need for the trip to Tanzania is $9,000, but we want to get to a total of $15,000. That would be ?unheard of.”
Chi Alpha member Ernest Fipps said each participant was required to raise at least $100 to go toward feedONE.
He also said some methods of gaining donations were a bit different than others.
“Last semester I randomly went to a few dining halls with some friends and started singing songs for people as a joke,” he said. “When people thought it was funny, I thought I should try it for when I needed to make donations, so I did. People gave me $10 to sing any song for their friends, and for $20, I would wear an article of their clothing while I sang.”
Mills said in addition to asking family and friends for donations, he actually made his money from an online project he started.
“Since I’m a leader of one of the Chi Alpha core groups, I’ve been constantly raising money every week,” he said. “I do freelance web design, and I’ve been donating the proceeds from my last project to our fundraiser for feedONE.”
Fipps said although he is excited to take part in the event, he will be occupied for much of it due to a project he has been working on.
“During the event I will be working to film a documentary of the fundraiser itself,” he said. “When it’s done it will be featured in a film contest held on campus every year.”
BuffaLouie’s will also be served at the event, courtesy of feedONE.
Mills emphasized the importance of the fundraiser, saying every cent counts towards making a difference for someone in need.
“We want people to be aware to the fact that there are kids around the world who can’t always have a hot meal at night,” he said. “We want to make an impact for them.”
