Raising over $300 by going door to door asking for donations, UW-Madison freshman Jonathan Nook collected the most funds of any participant in the 18th Annual Hunger Cleanup.
The event, sponsored by the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness and organized by the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, took place Saturday, with closing remarks by Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.
\It was an amazing feeling to see the fruits of my labor come to being,"" Nook said.
Volunteers raised $3,343.61 in a national event consisting of a day of volunteering and fund raising to help end hunger and homelessness.
After opening announcements, 62 volunteers went out into the community and participated in various social services including planting gardens, yard work and painting rooms in public buildings and shelters. Along with these activities, money was raised as volunteers went door to door in Madison residential areas and from donations made by local businesses.
Baldwin said it saddened her that even after many years of volunteer work in the area, there is still a significant problem with hunger and homelessness in the United States.
""In thinking about all of this, you are working to nourish people here, but in other ways you are nourishing souls,"" Baldwin said.
The money was divided between the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Madison chapter of a national organization specializing in providing hunger relief for American families and Transitional Housing, dedicated to providing homes for the homeless.
For his volunteer project, Will Sebern, a UW-Madison sophomore and member of the Poverty Action Network, helped seal playground equipment containing arsenic at a local nursery school.
""I think going out into the community is good, but the amount of money we raised is the best,"" Sebern said. ""The money goes to organizations that do good work and that is the best thing.""
At the closing event, awards were given out to the team and the individual who helped raise the most money. The WisPIRG Clean Water Team raised $700.14, winning the best-team award.
Megan Grunke, coordinator of the Hunger Cleanup, said she was happy with the event's success, but said that she hopes for a better turnout in following years.
""Today was amazing. I just wish there would have been more people here,"" she said. ""The people who came were very dedicated. It was amazing for the group that we did have and we made such an impact.\
