Aiming to replenish a local food pantry’s coffers, the Virginia Tech Muslim Student Association is launching its annual fundraiser and day of fasting today.
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The Hungry Hokies Fast-a-Thon collects $7 to benefit the Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry from participants who refrain from consuming food for a day.
Those participating in the fast are pledging to not eat anything or drink water from dawn to dusk, which is consistent with the customs of Muslim culture.
“It incorporates the traditional Muslim traditions of fasting,” said Asif Akhtar, president of the Muslim Student Association.
To break the fast, there will be a feast for all participants in the Squires Commonwealth Ballroom at 5 p.m. Food will be served from local restaurants including India Garden, Souvlaki and Napoli’s Italian Restaurant.
Nikki Giovanni, who is also participating in the fast, will be present to give a speech. Mixed Emotions, a campus a capella group, will also perform.
“It was very important to find some kind of activity program around which we could build community spirit and a sense of oneness within our community,” said Ray Williams, director of multicultural programs and services, “particularly around our holiday season when a lot of us will be around our family and share food while others around the community may not.”
All the proceeds raised through the event will be directly donated to Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry, located on Main Street. The pantry deals only with families affected by hunger in Blacksburg. More than 1300 local residents are served, and the number is continually increasing.
The pantry took in five new members per week in the past year, said Jenine Kotob, MSA member and head of this year’s Fast-a-Thon.
“More regular people are going to the pantry mainly because of the economic downfall,” Kotob said. “When we went and visited, most of the shelves were empty. So all donations are very helpful.”
This is the third year the event has taken place on the Tech campus. The first and second years yielded about $1,000 and $1,200 in donations, respectively. This year’s goal is set at $5,000, and three-fifths of that amount has already been raised.
A nationwide event, the Fast-a-Thon has raised thousands of dollars to support the hungry.
“We personalized it and called it Hungry Hokies so it’s personal to our campus,” Akhtar said. “Our goal was to make it bigger and better than previous years.”
This year, more groups on campus are participating in the event as opposed to previous years.
“One of our first goals was to get more students engaged,” Williams said.
In addition to raising money for the pantry, the event will also serve as a chance for students to become more aware of the diversity that thrives on campus.
“We also wanted to give students who may not have had ability to mingle with students of Islamic faith to be able to put a face with the religion,” Williams said. “This is a chance for us to educate and unify ourselves because at the end of the day, we’re all Hokies.”