Villanova Celebrates 48th Annual Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova University will celebrate its 48th annual Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week (HHAW) from Sunday, November 13, through Saturday, November 19. HHAW originated at Villanova University in 1975 under the guidance of the late Father Ray Jackson, OSA, an Augustinian priest whose legacy also includes co-founding the University’s Center for Peace and Justice Education. In the years since, this week of coordinated activities and education has expanded beyond Villanova to more than 700 campuses and communities and, has become the most widely organized hunger and homelessness event of its type nationwide.

Featured events include:

• Intercollegiate Mass on Sunday, November 13, at St. Thomas of Villanova Church. Mass begins at 5 p.m. and will be followed by a simple supper. Collections during Mass will be donated to HHAW.
• Thursday, November 17, will feature three events including Fast Day, a Solidarity Sleep Out and a keynote address from Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, III, founder of the Black Church Food Security Network.
• A 5k Hunger Run will be held Friday, November 18, benefitting Back on My Feet.

A full list of events can be found here.

About Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week: HHAW began in 1975 when a group of Villanova students, recognizing the power education could play in the fight against homelessness, decided to coordinate a week of activities around the issues. National HHAW is now an annual event held the week before Thanksgiving – jointly sponsored by the National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness (NSCHH) and the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH). At Villanova, HHAW is co-sponsored by the Centers for Peace & Justice Education and Campus Ministry at Villanova University. Villanova also partners with numerous local and national organizations for the annual event, including Catholic Relief Services, The National Coalition for the Homeless, Project HOME, Back on My Feet, Catholic Network of Volunteer Service, etc.

About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, Villanova supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu