The Presidential Fellowship is honored to have two of its Advising Team members, Peter Konwerski and Kathryn Newcomer, spearhead hallmark civic engagement events at GW during Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
Each year, Peter’s “Organizing for Social Justice in Human Services” class in the Human Services and Social Justice Program collaborates with the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service and organizes a week-long series of activities to promote education and understanding of homelessness and poverty from a local, national, and global perspective. Peter’s students work in committee groups focused around different aspects of the week. This year’s events, beginning on November 13th, included multiple panels on homelessness in DC, an Open Mic Night, and the annual Hunger Banquet fundraiser to support the The Store: GW’s Food Pantry.
On Wednesday, November 15th, Kathy orchestrated a collaborative theatrical performance, Timon of DC. This transformation of William Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens provided a contemporary exploration into the impulses surrounding giving and receiving. Street Sense performers, writers, and directors joined with the GW Faculty Senate Committee on University and Urban Affairs, the GW Department of Theatre and Dance, and the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, all of which are sponsors of the week. Additional speakers and sponsors for the week’s events included the Metropolitan Police Department, the DC Council, the GW Student Association, and the GW International Student Community.