About 20 students will sleep in tents in the Amphitheater Sunday through Tuesday as part of the Jewish Social Justice Council’s 10th annual Sleep-Out for the Homeless.
The event is organized around the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, said Council Chair Ricki Gaber, a fourth-year Batten and College student.
“During Sukkot, Jews center their daily events around a Sukkah, which is a structure built outside,” Gaber said in an email statement. “Pairing sleeping outside and Sukkot seemed like a nice way to integrate serving our community with Jewish traditions.”
The event aims both to raise awareness about homelessness in Charlottesville and to gather the funds to address the problem, said Council Secretary Clara Griff, a third-year College student.
The Council is raffling off prizes donated by local businesses, soliciting individual donations and asking family and friends to sponsor participants in order to raise money for The Haven, which is this year’s grant recipient.
The proceeds will help The Haven maintain and run its day shelter and housing programs.
“They provide locally sourced breakfast meals, showers, laundry and computer sessions for those in need,” Griff said. “The Haven also targets combatting the problem of homelessness amongst veterans with the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program.”
Sleepout will span the course of three days and feature daily events open to the public, including a speech from representatives of The Haven, an ORecords performance, a barbeque, an interfaith dialogue and a sporting event.
Gaber said the interfaith dialogue is focused on sharing religious perspectives.
“In the past, we've had many different religious groups come and discuss how each religion interprets community service and helping others,” Gaber said.
The three-day event is part of the group’s larger focus on social justice, a concept integral to Judaism, said Vice Chair Emily Umansky, a third-year College and Batten student.
“In Judaism we have the idea of ‘tikkun olam,’ which is Hebrew for ‘we’re carrying the world,’” Umansky said.
It also allows University students to come closer — within limits — to experiencing homelessness, Griff said.
“It does allow the opportunity to walk in their shoes, if even for a brief moment,” she said.
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