Crawford and Vernon Counties are the 7th and 8th poorest in Wisconsin, respectively. In these two counties, nearly 1/4 of residents living below the poverty line are children. Many depend heavily on school programs and aid from nonprofit organizations. Statistics such as these motivated Laurel High School students to launch this year’s Poverty Awareness event. Poverty Awareness is an educational e
vent set with the goal of reducing poverty in the Driftless and Coulee areas while simultaneously raising community awareness. Since it was first held by Laurel High School and Viroqua High School in 2005, Poverty Awareness has raised thousands of dollars for various charitable organizations. Students work to raise funds, through door-to-door donations, group fundraising efforts, and collaboration with local businesses. After meeting their individual fundraising goals, the students spend at least ten hours in frigid weather sleeping out for a night in cardboard boxes with nothing more than the blankets and layers of clothing they chose to bring with them. Many also choose to fast for a total of 12 hours during the event to further the experience. The next morning, all participants are compelled to attend school; they must make it through seven hours of instruction following a night of cold, damp, and poor sleep before returning home. This year, Laurel High School and Viroqua High School have begun fundraising for Poverty Awareness with the hopes of transforming it into a unifying community event. Students are working to boost fundraising efforts and have set a fundraising goal of $4000. Donations go to Couleecap, remaining in our community to help those in need.
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Checks should be made out to Viroqua Area Schools. For more information on Couleecap, please visit their website: www.couleecap.org. For more information about Poverty Awareness itself, call 1-608-606-4889
