Ten students at the University of B.C. will be sleeping outside and begging for food for five days next month to raise money to battle B.C.'s growing homeless problem.
The students will be going to classes in between raising money for the Five Days for the Homeless project, said organizer Naveen Dosanjh, a second-year student in UBC's Sauder School of Business.
"Basically homelessness is a huge social issue in Vancouver and we don't think it's getting the right kind of attention," said Dosanjh, 20.
Students will start the week with empty pockets, and have to ask for money for food. Between them they will use one cell phone for emergencies. And without computers, they will do assignments in the university libraries.
But they won't be collecting cans or interfering with the homeless who ask for money on campus already, she said.
Faced with the prospect of not showering, eating poorly, and sleeping outside participant Conor Topley, 21, said he would be a little leery of attending classes in commerce, where students are typically well-groomed.
"We want to look the part. We're not going to smell good," he said. "This will not be cool for my personal life."
Right now, the students have 8 confirmed participants and are looking for two more, she said. They're also looking for pledges from their friends and family, and a corporate sponsor to match individual donations.
The students have already surpassed their original fundraising goal of $3000, with almost a month to go before the event, planned for March 10 to 14.
"At this point we've raised almost the entire amount and the campaign hasn't even started," said Naveen.
The money will be going towards Covenant House, a non-profit organization that provides services for homeless people and runaway youth.
A report by professors at UBC, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Calgary said there could be as many as 15,500 adults with severe addictions who may also be homeless.
The Five Days for the Homeless project started at the University of Alberta three years ago, said Dosanjh. This is the first year that it's expanded to UBC.
