Oxfam America

 

 

Some of you may have had the opportunity to attend the Oxfam America Hunger Banquet that took place yesterday, or maybe you have attended a Hunger Banquet in the past.

The Hunger Banquet is a powerful event that allows people to experience the inequality of food distribution that occurs around the world. I remember at my first Hunger Banquet, sitting on the floor with a handful of rice, being moved to tears by experiencing poverty at a level that millions of people are subjected to. They say that 1 out of every 7 people goes to bed hungry. This statistic really hit home for me because I have 7 people in my own family. I remember thinking: What if this was one of my own family members having that small amount of food to eat on a daily basis? And I knew right then that this issue was going to become very important to me.

Oxfam America is a "global organization working to right the wrongs of poverty, hunger and injustice."
Thier vision: A just world without poverty.
Their mission: To create lasting solutions to poverty, hunger and social injustice.

Instead of just providing charity to poor people, Oxfam works on empowering people and communities through creating sustainable solutions that will last.

One of their big campaigns is the GROW Campaign. The mission of this Campaign is to "build a better food system: one that sustainably feeds a growing population and empowers poor people to earn a living, feed their families, and thrive."

If you are interested in learning more about the work of Oxfam America, you can visit their website: www.oxfamamerica.org.

If you want to get more involved in Oxfam America, you can check out their CHANGE program at http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatyoucando/take-action/student-action/change.

The CHANGE Program is a student leadership program that "develops capable leaders, who are informed voices for positive social change, and who inspire greater global awareness in others." As a CHANGE Leader, you become more informed about issues surrounding poverty, hunger and injustice and learn how to spread awareness and activism about these issues on your campus.

As a CHANGE Leader Alumni, I can say that this was an amazing experience that taught me a lot. Not only that, but you get to meet college students from all over the U.S. who are just as passionate as you about creating change.

If you are interested in finding out more information about the CHANGE Program, feel free to contact me at hilln@my.easternct.edu and I would love to tell you about my own experience!


~Nicolle Hill, CCE Intern

It's National Homelessness Awareness Week!

There is a lot of things going on this week! Check them out!

-          Monday, November 18, Hunger Banquet, Niejadlik Hall, 7pm

-          Tuesday – Wednesday, November 19-20, Shack-a-Thon, Webb Lawn, 12pm on 11/19 - 6pm on 11/20

-          Thursday, November 21, “What is a Home?” Panel Discussion, SC Theatre, 3pm

-          Wednesday- Friday, November 21-23, Children’s glove/mitten drive, Webb Lawn/Lobby, Student Center, 10am-2pm

-          Monday-Friday, Voices of Homelessness Art Exhibit from No-Freeze, Student Center lobby/Webb hall

 

If you have any questions about any of the events, please contact the Center for Community Engagement at cce@easternct.edu!

 

Homelessness in CT

This is the second part of a two part series leading up to the Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week that is taking place November 18-23. Last week was on hunger in Connecticut; this week will be featuring the issue of homelessness.

As the days get colder and darker, the issue of homelessness becomes an urgent matter.

According to the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness' article titled "Portrats of Homelessness in Connecticut," the state's emergency shelters served 11,700 people, 1,500 of them being children (Portraits, 1).

The factors that they list as contributing factors to homelessness include (Portraits, 1):

• Inadequate Income: "homeless families typically have extremely low incomes under 50% of the poverty level" (p. 1).
• High Costs of Housing: In 2010, CT had the 5th highest cost of living in the U.S. and about 80% of poor households in CT are weighed down by housing costs with 50% of their paycheck or more going towards rent.
• Interpersonal Violence: 40% of CT adults in families said that domestic violence contributed to their homelessness.
• Disability Health Conditions: this factor is on the rise as more and more adults are diagnosed with medical and psychological conditions
• Re-entry and Criminal Justice Involvement

In 2010, CT had 24 emergency shelters for homeless individuals, 10 for homeless families and 18 that serve a mixed population of both families and individuals (p. 3).

If you would like to read more about Homelessness in CT from this article, you can find it at: http://www.cfgnh.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Public/giveANDlearn-reports/HOMELESSNESS-portraits_full.pdf

October...the month of food!

October is all about food! The pumpkin obsession, the apple sensations, the warm soups, and hot drinks. As the days get colder, we find ourselves leaning more and more towards food as a source of comfort.
October is Eat Better, Eat Together Month and Fair Trade Month. It's the month of World Food Day and National Food Day. There is even a national Taco Day and a National Candy Corn Day and I am sure there are many others!
The day that is coming up next is National Food Day which is October 24, 2013. "Food Day is a nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affortable and sustainable food" (Foodday.org).
According to Foodday.org, this year's National Food Day aims to:

• Promote safer, healthier diets: Currently in America, the top sources of calories for children ages 2-18 are grain desserts such as cake and cookies, pizza, and sugary drinks.
• Support sustainable and organic farms: The USDA estimates that of all the food sales that occur in the U.S. Market for agricultural products, only 1.6 percent of these sales come from local farms.
• Reduce Hunger: More than 16 million children in America live in a household that struggles to put food on the table on a daily basis.
• Reform factory farms to protect the environment and farm animals: 70 percent of all polution that occurs in U.S. rivers and streams comes from Agricultural practices and especially larger scale operations.
• Support fair working conditions for food and farm workers: The average annual income for crop workers is between $10,000 and $12,499 for individuals and $15,000 and $17,499 for families.

How can you help?

• "Write or call your U.S. senators, U.S. representative, governor, state legislators, mayor, or city council and ask them to support increased funding for healthy food initiatives, including promotions of fruits and vegetables, campaigns against junk food, or getting rid of junk foods from all city or state property and using the government’s buying power to support local and/or organic farming" (foodday.org)
• Visit the FoodDay.org website to find out more information about holding a Food Day event.
• Join the environmental club, People Helping People or Food Justice Committee on campus
• Volunteer in local schools and help teach kids about healthy eating

To find out about any of the opportunities listed above contact the Center for Community Engagement at cce@easternct.edu.

Does Advertising Promote Inequality?

 Everywhere you look advertising is telling us how we should look, dress, and act. Driving down the highway you see billboards, checking your Facebook you see side ads, and watching your favorite sitcom you encounter dozens of commercials. Although the products they are advertising are different, the message behind them seems to be the same.

                After viewing a short film called ‘Killing Us Softly’ in a Social Inequality course here at Eastern Connecticut State University, I became much more aware, and offended, by the fact that women in advertising are used as sexual objects and second class citizens. In the film, Jean Kilbourne shares her passion and analytical view on advertisements specifically those featuring women. Jean’s funny and witty nature captivates the audience so she can truly get her point across. Jean says although most of us think we are immune to advertisings effects, we aren’t. She states “The fact is that much of advertising's power comes from this belief that advertising does not affect us. The most effective kind of propaganda is that which is not recognized as propaganda. Because we think advertising is silly and trivial, we are less on guard, less critical, than we might otherwise be. It's all in fun, it's ridiculous. While we're laughing, sometimes sneering, the commercial does its work.”

Subconsciously these advertisements are telling us that women are unintelligent sexualized objects that are good for pleasing men, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children; ideas that are extremely dated but still shown to us on a daily basis in a way where most people won’t realize or be offended. Think of the last Windex or Swiffer advertisement you saw…who was the main character? My guess is that it was a woman who was cleaning up after her family; correct me if I’m wrong. Then there are the cologne ads which are so sexualized we hardly even know what they are selling. To prove this I Goggled “cologne” and on the first page of results this is what I found…

If I saw this ad in passing I would have absolutely no idea what it was selling. By taking a closer look, yes, technically it does say the cologne is called “Obsession for men” by Calvin Klein, but still how does the photo in this ad correlate to cologne? Maybe if you wear it a gorgeous supermodel will show up naked at your doorstep? This is just one of many examples of how advertising uses and degrades women to nothing more than sexual objects.

                It is important for all women and those who support gender equality to make a change. By consuming these ads we are saying that women are less than men, less than human, and not worthy of the same respect of their opposing gender. For ways to make a difference visit http://www.jeankilbourne.com/ for ideas and organizations that challenge destructive media images.

By: Lauren, Intern

A Great Opportunity!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011