For the sixth year in a row, the West Texas A&M University campus will be covered with small cardboard dwellings as students participate in Shack-A-Thon 6.0.
At Shack-A-Thon, students are invited to experience poverty by building and spending 24 hours in a cardboard shack. While the event does open a door for students to see how the impoverished live, it allows them to have a good time as well.
“I decided to do it because it seemed like a really fun thing to do,” Dominique Gambles, sophomore marketing major, said. “I had a lot of friends who were going to be there, so I signed up and had a blast.”
Along with the picture of poverty that Shack-A-Thon provides, there is a chance for students to make a difference in a national sense. The WT Campus Ministers Alliance has partnered with the Christian Relief Fun to sponsor Give-A-Goat. This allows students to donate money and, for every $50 raised, a goat will be delivered to an impoverished family in Africa.
“Give-A-Goat is really cool and important,” Cooper Jones, sophomore music education major, said. “I think it is important for us to give back and help people as a school and as a community as a whole.”
A goat may not seem like much to someone who lives in the United States, but for those who are starving in Africa, a goat can make all the difference in the world.
“They really can use the goats for anything,” Gambles said. “They can get milk from them, meat eventually, and they can even sell them down the road. Goats are a big deal for a hungry family.”
Recently, the WT Readershp Ambassadors travelled to Uganda, where they were able to witness such poverty firsthand. The group always participates in Shack-A-Thon, and this year will be no different. These students provide an inside look into how these people live.
“Give-A-Goat will help the people in the long run, since they don’t make enough to actually buy much,” Francesco lo Sauro, freshman history major and Readership Ambassador, said. “A yearly wage in Uganda adds up to about the cost of an iPhone, so they need help. I would rather go over and help directly, but you have to help in any way you can.”
Any students who want to participate in Shack-A-Thon or donate for Give-A-Goat can go by their table in the JBK, or stop by the Shack Headquarters on the east side of Old Main April 7-9. Anyone who participates must sign a release form, and the event will end at 7:00 a.m. on April 10.
