Poverty marathon returns to raise awareness and donations

Eastern Connecticut State University held its 12th Poverty Awareness Marathon on Nov. 7 after a six-year break. More than 100 members of the Eastern community ran and walked to raise awareness of poverty in Windham and across the nation. Throughout the day, participants ran, walked, or jogged as their schedules permitted, each lap around campus equaling 1.2 miles; 22 laps totaling 26.4 miles.

Business administration Professor Charlie Chatterton organized the event in collaboration with volunteers from Eastern’s Student Athletic Advisory Committee and Center for Community Engagement to collect donations of non-perishable foods to benefit Eastern’s on-campus food pantry, Shawn’s Cupboard, as well as the Covenant Soup Kitchen in Willimantic.

The event collected 400 food items, exceeding its goal of 368 items, representing the 36.8 million people in the United States living in poverty, according to Chatterton. In total, 159 members of the Eastern community participated in portions of the marathon, covering more than 200 miles. 

“What's been terrific is that there are students involved with this who have been very helpful,” said Chatterton. “Any event like this is about people working together.”

Chatterton added that experiences such as planning and raising donations, as well as engaging with the community, add to students’ leadership skills and benefit them in their future careers.