Walk for the Homeless raises $15,000

President Katherine Bergeron talks with New London Homeless Hospitality Center Executive Director Catherine Zall during the seventh annual Walk for the Homeless. For more photos from the walk, see the slideshow below.
President Katherine Bergeron talks with New London Homeless Hospitality Center Executive Director Catherine Zall during the seventh annual Walk for the Homeless. For more photos from the walk, see the slideshow below.

On a cool, crisp spring morning, Connecticut College students, faculty and staff joined community members in downtown New London for a two-mile walk. In the process, they raised more than $15,000 for the New London Homeless Hospitality Center.

The seventh annual Walk for the Homeless was organized by students in the College’s Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy, a multidisciplinary academic center that advances teaching, learning, research and collaboration in order to create more just and equitable communities. The walk, which took place April 27, was also the final event in a series celebrating the Inauguration of the College’s new president, Katherine Bergeron.

In her remarks before the walk began, Bergeron told the crowd that it was fitting for her Inauguration celebration to begin and end with events designed to bring together the New London and Connecticut College communities. Bergeron has made expanding the partnership between the city and the College one of her goals; her Inauguration celebration began with a New London community reception March 27.

A key element of the partnership is the service learning relationships the College has with many schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations in the city. Each year nearly 600 students volunteer and intern with these partner organizations, including the New London Homeless Hospitality Center, which provides shelter and support services for hundreds of people in southeastern Connecticut who need temporary or long-term assistance. The Center will receive all proceeds from the walk.

“The walk is an important part of the Inauguration, because it is a statement to the sort of community unification that President Bergeron is committed to ensuring during her time as president,” Kristina Harrold ’16, one of the walk organizers, said before the event. “It speaks to the awareness and advocacy that will be fostered during the next century at Connecticut College.”

In addition to the fundraising walk, participants enjoyed performances by College musical groups Miss Connduct and Vox Cameli, yoga instruction, and a health fair that offered information about lifestyle tips and wellness resources in the area.


May 12, 2014