BRIDGEWATER, Va. – On Monday, Jan. 19, Bridgewater College hosted their second annual RISE Against Hunger event, where students, staff, and Bridgewater residents gathered in the Funkhouser Center and packaged nearly 20,000 meals. 

“Hosting this kind of event gets a group of students and allows them to make a difference in real time,” Laurel Edwards, a student intern who helped organize the event, said. 

According to riseagainsthunger.org, these events are held to alleviate food insecurity in 37 countries, including South Africa, Haiti and Indonesia.

This event was organized by Benjamin Erickson, the Director of Community Engagement at Bridgewater College, and Edwards, a senior majoring in Strategic Communications. 

Bridgewater College students, staff, sports teams, and local Bridgewater residents split into three different stations consisting of funneling the food into bags, weighing the food, and packaging the food into boxes. 

With 250 people in attendance, the event exceeded expectations.

“We aimed for 200 people,” Edwards said. “To see all these people come together and work together to help with food insecurity is such a powerful thing.” 

Erickson said one contributing factor to the success of this event was its convenient timing and location, since it is on campus on a day when classes are not in session.

“It’s a lot of fun, “ Edwards said. “You listen to music. Last year, with the volleyball team, we had two tables and we were trying to see which table could get done with all their bags first.” 

According to conwayhousingsc.org, serving the community is a great way to build teamwork skills. 

“I enjoyed working with my team, getting into a groove, and figuring out how to work together to be the most efficient,” Jillian Levin, a member of the Bridgewater College women’s volleyball team, said. 

Levin said participating in this event helps her team bond at the same time they are giving back.  

“This event always makes me feel good and makes our team feel good,”  Levin said.