16th Annual HungerFest and Car Wash and Fundraiser Benefits Miami’s Homeless
February 24 and 25, 2012, 2/24 3:00-5:30 pm; 2/25 9:45-2:45pm
Archbishop Curley Notre Dame 6 to 12 Prep
4949 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL
33137
www.acnd.net

Archbishop Curley Notre Dame High School students will fast as a gesture of solidarity with Miami’s poor between February 24 and 25, 2012. The 16th Annual “HungerFest” participants will abstain from food and drink (other than water) for 27 hours while bagging and delivering lunches to the Camillus House (a non-profit organization that provides humanitarian services to men, women and children) and the Miami Rescue Mission. Last year’s HungerFest raised over $4,000 for ACND’s sister schools in Haiti and Peru. The students also set a new record by producing nearly 3,000 bagged lunches.

Members of the community are invited to help support this event by having their car washed on Friday, February 24th between 3:00 and 5:30 p.m. and on Saturday, February 25th from 9:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Cars: $5.00; SUV’s $7.00. Donations of peanut butter, jelly, juice boxes, and small bottles are water can be dropped off during school hours.

Also commencing February 24th, and, in conjunction with the season of Lent, the school will exhibit a series of photographic works by Benjamin Rusnak titled, “23 Degrees, Far From Paradise.” Rusnak is a humanitarian photojournalist for the Food for the Poor, Inc. His work documents the lives of the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean. In an artist statement Rusnak writes, “For the poor, there is a duality to life. In each person, each moment holds joy, pain, and a mourning for what is lost and a yearning for what may be. These lands represent a dream holiday to tourists, but they are only an elusive fantasy to millions of residents still hoping for the reality of paradise to become theirs.”

Approximately 65 students and 6 faculty members will participate in this 27 hour HungerFest where participants hope to raise consciousness about poverty and world hunger. ACND Senior, Celine Wassaf comments, “Hungerfest is an oppportunity for students to experience hunger first hand, and to learn what it means to give back to the community. Mr. Rusnak’s humanitarian work gives a realistic depiction of the poverty that surrounds us, which helps us realize the gravity of the situation and the importance of our work.”

The weekend will end with a Mass and Agape Feast , also referred to as the “love feast” is a Christian ritual meal. Food for this meal has been sponsored by Lonny Paul, Executive Editor of Downtown Miami News and VP of Marketing and Strategic Initiatives at Systemax and Mike’s at Venetia Restaurant and Irish Pub in Downtown Miami.

To learn more about this event, visit www.acnd.net or watch a multimedia presentation about HungerFest.

Photos Courtesy of Tom Salyer www.tomsalyer.com: ACND Prep students fast while helping to feed Miami’s poor. The 16th Annual “HungerFest” raises consciousness about poverty and world hunger.