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Twenty-seven work groups consisting of almost 300 students, employees and their family members, and alumni, pitched in for a morning of service at numerous locations throughout the Greater Bridgeport area this past Saturday, April 6 as part of Fairfield's 25th Annual Hunger Cleanup.

The enthusiastic teams met for a light breakfast and received instructions from Wylie Blake of Campus Ministry and the student committee, followed by a prayerful sendoff by Fr. George Collins, S.J. The workers then traveled by bus or carpooled to one of 18 locations in the Greater Bridgeport area to perform a variety of chores. Some crews painted while others planted flowers, raked lawns, picked up sticks, and undertook other beautification projects.

Work sites included the Girl Scouts, East Main Street Revitalization, Mohonk Children’s Services (25 ^th year there!), Operation Hope, and the Kennedy Center. Wylie reports that David Singer at Mohonk said they really look forward to the Fairfield visit every year!

Hunger Cleanup also raises funds for these organizations. To help with this, a fun and creative new addition to this year’s events was “Dinner with the Stag Stars.” Held April 3 during dinner time in the Main Dining Room, students had chances to bid together to have dinner with a campus “celebrity” such as President Jeffrey von Arx, S.J.; Vice President for Administration & Chief of Staff Mark C. Reed '96; Alumni Chaplain Charles Allen, S.J., and other well-known figures on campus. Jim Fitzpatrick, an auctioneer and Stag Star, reports that 11 Stag Stars were auctioned off raising a substantial amount of donations, which are given to the non-profits where the Fairfield groups volunteer. “The Stag Stars were worried that they’d be auctioned off at a higher price than the President. We were thankful that the students realized the two best dinners were with Father von Arx and Carole Ann Maxwell!”

The event would not have been possible without a dedicated planning team. A student committee led by Alessia Laise ’13 planned all the many moving pieces involved with the cleanup: Marisa Carpini ’13, Cait Carroll ’13, Janice Herbert ’15, Emily Kopas ’15, Christine Ligato’15, Verna Jean Michaud ’16, Kelly Moran ’15, Kayta Nash ’16, Chelsea Picarrazi ’13, Kristen Seeto ’15, Kristin Torres ’16, Megan Vigliotti ’13, and Alyssa Zuccaro ’15.

Wylie was very pleased with this year’s Hunger Cleanup. “The event went very smoothly this year in large part due to the leadership of Alessia Laise!” In no time at all students will be planning for next year’s Hunger Cleanup 2014!