With less than 4 hours to go, we are all looking forward to going home and wrapping ourselves in all the things we have missed over the week… but at the same time, it’s kind of sad.  I’ve met so many people, and heared so many great stories… shared so many laughs with my fellow hobo’s in an effort to keep our spirits high… and eaten so much AMAZING donated food… this has been a truely life changing experience, and as difficult as it has been at times, I wouldn’t have traded places with anyone this week.

To my partners in crime, and all those who came out to support us, I leave you with this:

Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
–John Lennon, Imagine

 May you always be surrounded by the kind of love and generosity that we have experienced this week.

Wow!  SOOOOO many people came by today to support us with food and praise, that we ended up eating like kings, with TONS to spare!  The generosity was unbelievable, but all that food sure didn’t promote our “homeless” image. 

Not to worry, in an effort to ease our own personal guilt, and see that the amazing selection of fruits/veggies, granola bars, juices boxes, etc. went to a good place, we called in a little help from a local shelter, and had them take away FIVE grocery bags of food to be delivered to shelters around town first thing in the morning.  She explained to us, that this is in fact the worst season for shelters as far as donations go, as Christmas has passed, and so the idea of being charitable with it; so this food will be greatly appreciated by many people, and for that we have our peers & faculty to thank.

With that in mind, we will be heading into our fourth night outside with precious little food left in our supply, so to those who criticized our lack of “suffering” will enjoy seeing our five tired hungry faces tomorrow morning

With all that said, I can only end with this:  food is wonderful, and yes, we do like to eat, but we five students are not the ones in real need, because in less than 2 days, we get to scrub down, and go back to our pampered lives.  The people who really need your help are the ones who live their lives this way; with no end in sight, no one to stop by and make sure they’re OK, no one making sure they are recieving nutricious food on a regular basis, nothing.  These are the people we are trying to help.  The forgotten souls who sit in the “trenches”, as we all pass by on our daily business, and choose not to aknowledge for whatever reasons.  These are the people that we are making a spectacle of ourselves to draw your attention to.  So, please, the next time you think to buy us a meal from the cafeteria, instead maybe throw that money into our cups, and let us use it to provide a few people down on their luck with the things that they need to make it through.

So far we have raised almost $1,300, which is amazing, and every cent of the money we are collecting will be used by CPAH to purchase items like blankets, toothbrushes, deoderant, and the list goes on… these kits can really make a difference for someone in need, and there are so many who need it. 

Thanks to everyone for all of your support so far - let’s keep fighting the good fight!

–Robin

“Be the change you wish to see”

Today was a very long day… After about 3-4 hours of frequently interrupted sleep due to high winds and a killer tarp, I started my morning off with a midterm… I really can’t tell you how it went, at this point I only vaguely remember writing it.  Then I enjoyed another six hours of classes from afternoon to evening, of which I believed I slept through most of with my eyes open. 

We seem to be gaining a lot more attention with the local media, which is really awesome.  Tomorrow the school is hosting a career fair in the student centre, so we have lost our donation table, but it won’t stop us!  We’ve set up shop in a corner, and seem to be getting even more attention now that people can’t seem to pass by us without tripping on our stinky feet.

I miss my cats… I hope they’re okay (who am I kidding though, they’re cats, they won’t miss me!)…

We made it through night two. There was little sleep involved however; as there was intense wind on campus throughout the night and into the morning. The wind was bone chilling; and if you turned away from the wind we had what has seemingly become the brightest light in the world. This light will keep anyone awake. The wind creates a lot of noise; my garbage bag which I am using to carry my sleeping bag and pillow was continuously making noise all night. People walking by; and general crashing and banging on campus create a horrid sleeping environment. I would not like to know what sort of noises exist in the downtown core.

The only thing that separates us from the cold bricks is a thin layer of salvaged cardboard from the campus corner store; it’s not much but it will have to do, we have no other choice.

Point of interest: The level of community that has been created amongst us five is remarkable. We take little for granted and really really appreciate nearly everything. Last night when we arrived at our spot to bunk down we found a bag of tea and one slice of pizza waiting there for us. We were all so excited about this single piece of pizza; it looked like the greatest pizza in the world. There was no bickering over who’s pizza it was going to be, it was simply understood that we were all in this together and that we would share the pizza.

Night Two is in the bank… Lets see how day two goes…. I need a nap already.

So, as many others have already announced, day 1 was rather successful.  We had a lot of students stop by the table and educate themselves on our cause, so hopefully tomorrow they will return with some spare change for CPAH.  We’re slowly adjusting to our new eating schedule (or lack thereof), and taking what we can get, when we can get it.  It rained quite a bit today, so tonights sleep will be quite damp, and they’re calling for snow tomorrow… Luckily for me, I have a midterm in the morning to study for, so I’ll be in the warmth for a while longer. 

We’re told we’ll be getting some radio coverage on the Wolf (97FM) each morning at 7:36am… so if you’re up, you can tune in to find out if we made it through another night!  Anyhow, I should really stop procrastinating on my studies, so for tonight, sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite.

It is now 6pm Pacific time, and our adventures have begun!

We shared our last meal at 4pm in the cafeteria, and set up our donation tables, and we are off and running! Luckily, the weather is looking good for tonight, so we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed for the rest of the week. Some of us have already experienced our first drawbacks to carrying our lives on our backs… even when you scrape it down to the bare necessities (school books, sleeping bag, bottle of water, etc.), our lives are pretty heavy!

I’ll check back in tomorrow (as long as the cougars don’t get us in our sleep)!

I’m seeing an awful lot of snow out there… this is going to be an experience!

I’m going to miss my dear kitties, and my shoes, but who could complain? At least we have homes to go back to when the five days are over!