Professor Edmond Hally’s citizenship and service-learning class will be hosting a charity poker night in the Panther’s Den on Mon., April 6, to raise money for No Kid Hungry.
No Kid Hungry is an organization that works to end child hunger in America.
From 8-10 p.m., there will be a poker tournament featuring a $50 gift certificate prize, as well as additional card games including Uno and Flip 7. Competitors are asked to donate $2 for participation in the poker tournament.
There will be $6 Chic-fil-a sandwiches available for purchase, as well as $1 raffle tickets for gift cards and poker.
Members of the class will be set up with tables in Franklin Hall atrium during community hour to take sign-ups for the poker tournament.
“The atrium tables are for sign-ups in advance of the event,” offered Hally. “We hope to get people to sign up for our poker tournament, but we’re also raising money via a raffle and a Chic-fil-a chicken sandwich sale. So, anyone–students, faulty, and staff–can stop by the tables at the Atrium this week and register for the poker tournament, pre-purchase a chicken sandwich, or buy a raffle ticket. Donations are also welcome!”
As coordinator of the political science program, Hally hopes that the event will shed light on a less common perception of politics for the students.
“The main goal of Citizenship and Service Learning is to demonstrate how ‘politics’ doesn’t have to be just what occurs in the halls of power,” he said. “Politics can also be determining a community need and helping to fill that need.”
According to Hally, experiences such as these often affect students the most.
“The literature on service learning shows that the most meaningful projects are student-selected, student-run, and tie back to in-class activities,” Hally said. “In addition to researching and planning the details of the project, we spend significant time in class discussing issues like poverty and childhood hunger. We tie our service work back to the in-class material through class-wide and individual reflection assignments.”
Hally noted that the class has been extremely engaged in the hosting of this event from the very beginning.
“We had a lot of great contenders for a project this year, and the class vote was close,” he said. “But overall, I ask students to select a project that they see as a combination of being meaningful, accessible, and enjoyable.”
Hally hopes that the event will be great–great fun for attendees and a great benefit No Kid Hungry.
“We hope to not only put on a fun and exciting event for students, faculty, and staff, but also raise a lot of money for No Kid Hungry” Hally added. “During the event, we plan to have information about the organization so that interested people can help in their own ways.”
