From left to right: McGill students Dave Fortin, Alyson Murphy, Keisha Padayachee, Shane Dussault, Eric Aboutboul and Madeleine Coste bed down for another night camping out in front of the Redpath Library. The students are participating in the Five Days for The Homeless campaign from March 11-16, in which they want to raise money for Dans la rue, a a grassroots, community-based organization that works with street kids and at-risk youth aged 12 to 25.
Five Days for The Homeless was founded as a local initiative by University of Alberta School of Business students in 2005, before going national in 2008. The campaign’s goals are to increase awareness of the issue of homelessness and to raise donations for charitable organizations supporting homeless and at-risk youth across the country. To date, the campaign has raised over $750,000 and has spread its message from coast to coast.
Over the course of the week, participants are required to remain on campus for five days with no income, personal communication devices or access to showers. They have to sleep outside with only a pillow and a sleeping bag and can only eat food donated by direct donations from passersby. They also must attend all their regular classes.
For more on the Five Days Initiative, and to make a donation, go to: www.5days.ca/mcgill