Amber Standridge, a senior Chancellor’s Leadership Corps scholar, wrote this guest post about hunger. With the holiday season approaching, she implores the campus community to get out and help.

A young boy sits in his class at school unable to focus because his stomach aches from lack of food. As the teacher writes on the board, he grabs at his empty stomach. Hunger pains strike once again. How long ago was his last meal? When will he eat again? How will he find his next meal? Sadly, many people in our community experience the painstaking problem of hunger every single day. You encounter these hunger-stricken people and may never even know they are in need of help.

An old man, curled up on the sidewalk. His dark, brown eyes and weathered hands tell of a hard life he has lived. He reaches out for help but everyone walks by. People think of the worst reasons he is there on the sidewalk, but none take the time to help him. As night begins to come, he slowly closes his eyes and thinks to himself. If just one person was willing to help him, he could eat one last time. Sadly, he is reminded by the hunger pains that another meal was far from him.

Hunger. You may not believe that people nowadays could experience true hunger. In all reality, hunger can strike anyone at any given time. I have been blessed to not have experienced hunger. So why do I care about all of the people in the community that suffer from such a problem? That is a simple question, really. I care because those people need help and I, though I am just one, can make a difference in their lives. If I can provide a meal for one person, then that is one person’s life I have changed.

Hunger. Devastating and real. For several years, I watched people living on the streets line up to receive food. Neither rain, lightning, snow, ice, nor illness would stop me from giving these people just one spark of hope for a better tomorrow. The stories the men and women would share with me touched my life. My smile lit up through them as I watched them eat their fill. These men and women had once wonderful, meaningful lives and because of one tragedy they found themselves starving and in need. I gladly gave up my Sundays to spend it with them.

Hunger. It can be stopped. From providing meals to volunteering at food banks to participating in the Reach 13,000 Food Drive, I advocate for change in the lives of my community members. I care and I want to help others because of the joy it brings to me knowing that someone has been helped. If I don’t take a stand to help someone else, then who will? Will you?

Help end hunger in our community by donating to the Reach 13,000 Food Drive. UALR has until November 13, 2012, to reach its goal. If every student, staff member, and faculty member donated one item each, we would exceed our goal. You can help us by donating non-perishable items to the big display in the DSC, in the boxes around campus, or at our next event. Our next event is Battle of the Talents on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. in the DSC Field House. Together we can make a difference.