aerial view of Western's campus at night, with golden lights surrounded by dark trees

A thank you from the Basic Needs Hub for WWU's support of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

To the Western Community,  

Thank you for the support of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week last week! During a time when half of students in Washington report some level of basic needs insecurities, it’s critical to discuss basic needs challenges and to provide support and resources. We want to share appreciation for the support of many to make the events successful.  

For the attendees of The Last Class Film Screening, thank you for coming and discussing educational access, wealth and poverty, bullying, and avoiding cynicism. Thank you to our wonderful panelists, John Korsmo (Associate Dean of Student Access and Success, Woodring College of Education) and Ashley DeLatour (Executive Director of Programs at Futures NW). If you missed this screening and want to see the film, check out other showings on The Last Class Film. 

To the folks who donated to Pack the Pantry: thank you! We secured 463 pounds of prepackaged food items, 2 pounds of produce, and 46 pounds of hygiene items for a total of over 511 pounds of donations! A special thank you to Mandy Hanousek and Thanh Tran who volunteered to staff part of the event. Since the WHOLE Food Pantry now serves 2400 student visitors each week, this support is very helpful to its ongoing success. Similarly, we appreciate the many people who donated to the WHOLE Pantry with the donation link, and we secured $14,278.75 in donations to assist with WHOLE Pantry items and to provide grocery gift cards to help with the disruption of SNAP benefits.  

True North: Stories that Inspire had 6 remarkable tellers. To MJ Dizon, Olive Salas, Heather Curfman, John Korsmo, Zay Hassan, and Valee Olson: your true personal stories were powerful, inspiring, and so well told! Thank you so much for taking time to prepare your stories and for your vulnerability. Thanks as well to our stage, set up, and tech crew Jase Kaeberlein, Ellie Pierson, Grey Gienow, and Mena Oxford to help make the event flow smoothly. Most of our storytellers were connected to Western Success Scholars (WSS), and all donations from that night benefited WSS. If you want to further support or you didn’t have a chance to support, donate to Western Success Scholars at this link.  

Our third annual Free Kitchen Flea Market and Resource Fair was a great way to end the awareness week, with 200 students visiting the market to pick up the many donated household and kitchen supplies. Thanks to the Academic Advising and Student Achievement Center, Tutoring Center, CBE Student Success Center, Fairhaven College, and Rec Center who had a donation box this month to collect flea market items. Thanks as well to the 12 offices or organizations who staffed the resource fair to share more basic needs resources. And thanks to each and every person who donated something to make this event a success. It would not have been possible without your donations! 

Last but certainly not least, thank you to the student staff teams of Western Success Scholars, Off Campus Living, and the Basic Needs Office who supported all aspects of this week. You all are doing a great job!

Warmly,  

The Basic Needs Hub staff team