VSB coordinating Bloomington benefit walk for the homeless March 30

By Ryan Piurek

IU Bloomington students will have the opportunity to help raise money for the homeless and increase public awareness of homelessness by participating in Homeward Bound, a walk on Sunday, March 30, benefiting the homeless as well as affordable housing agencies in south central Indiana.

The 5K walk in Bloomington, which is being coordinated by IUB's Volunteer Students Bureau (VSB), will begin at 2 p.m. at Third Street Park, located just south of East Third Street between Lincoln and Washington streets. Registration will begin at noon.

Homeward Bound, a collaboration of local homeless service providers and affordable housing agencies, works with the Indiana Coalition on Housing and Homeless Issues to raise awareness of homelessness throughout the state. Monroe County averages nearly 4,000 homeless people each year, and an estimated 300,000 Hoosiers have been at risk of homelessness at some time in their lives, according to the United Way of Monroe County.

The event is one of six walks that will occur in Indiana during the spring. The walk was brought to the Volunteer Students Bureau's attention by Darrell Ann Stone, associate director of student activities for leadership and service at IUB.

"I wanted VSB to be involved in this because they are the student organization that remains a volunteer opportunity resource for the entire campus," said Stone. "It seemed to me that we had a responsibility to help educate students about homelessness and to provide them with an opportunity to give back to the city they are being hosted within."

The VSB, a student-run organization that acts as a liaison between campus and community, is actively seeking students to participate in the walk. Currently, the bureau has enlisted more than 70 volunteers from various student groups, campus organizations and residence halls, said Erin Erwin, a graduate assistant at the bureau.

"We've had great interest so far," Erwin said. "We chose to do this walk because the VSB works to serve the interests of all students, and this is something that students can easily get involved with and feel equally passionate about."

For more information concerning the Bloomington walk, contact the VSB at 812-855-8290; E-mail Error! Hyperlink reference not valid..

Teams and individual volunteers can register online:

http://www.homelesswalks.org