Photo by Andres Bedoya
Nathaniel Edwards/Contributing Writer
For the fourth consecutive year, FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus will participate in the “All Nighter for the Poor” event, a nationwide occasion held to commemorate World Food Day. On Nov. 18, FIU will join Colleges and Universities around the nation to fight hunger and malnutrition.
According to The “All Nighter for the Poor” website, one in eight Haitian children die before the age of five, many of them dying from malnutrition. “All Nighter for the Poor” is the brainchild of “Food for the Poor,” the largest international relief and development organization in the United States. The organization has raised money to help the poor of the Caribbean and Latin America through sustainable projects for over 28 years.
With the money earned from the fundraiser, The Food for the Poor organization works with the Haitian community to build a pond with pangasius fish, which can provide a fishing village in Haiti with a self-sustaining source of food, jobs and income. They also help build irrigation systems and water wells in Haiti. The event will be held in the Wolfe University Center Ballrooms. The opening ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. and the event, which lasts all night, will end at 7:00 a.m.
Student Programming Council President, Catherine Vega, says that there will be a lot of activities that night for students to help raise money for Haiti.
The goal of the evening is to raise $5,000 to make a pangasius pond in Haiti to help the agriculture of the village it is built in. Given the proper feeding and management, pangasius, a member of the catfish family, can grow to be between two to three pounds in five to six months time, which is why it was chosen since it grows fast and is much easier to maintain than other fish, such as tilapia.
“We will be providing a lot of fun activities, such as laser tag and kayaking, so we expect a lot of students to come out and join us,” Vega said.
Leading up to the event, student organizations throughout campus are collecting money to fundraise for the event by setting up collection jars within their respective departments, high traffic areas and any other department willing to assist with the fundraising.
All the activities at the All-Nighter program will be free, but a suggested $10 donation will be accepted. There will also be team competitions to raise money during the night. There can be up to four people in a group, which can include any student, with some clubs joining in like SOC and SAA.
SOC is in currently in the lead.
“I am proud and inspired to be running such an awesome organization,” Vega said.
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