Several hundred Georgetown students woke up early Saturday morning to participate in the District of Columbia’s annual Help the Homeless Walkathon, an event that culminated Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week at Georgetown.

Over 275 Georgetown students attended the event, according to Rob O’Rourke (COL ’07), the former chair of Hoyas Outreach Programs and Education, who helped organize Georgetown’s presence at the rally. O’Rourke and HOPE’s current chairs, Emily Herzberg (NHS ’08) and Sarah Dettenwanger (COL ’08), helped to transport six buses filled with Georgetown students to the National Mall to take part in the 19th annual walk.

The event was sponsored in part by the Fannie Mae Foundation, which donated $50 for each Georgetown student who was registered to walk. The walkathon cost $5 per student.

O’Rourke said that Georgetown raised almost $14,000 this year, slightly less than the approximately $15,000 that the walk raised last year and that organizers hoped to make again.

“We came very close to our goal,” O’Rourke said.

The walkathon, which drew approximately 20,000 participants altogether, began at the Smithsonian Museum with speeches by Washington, D.C. Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty, outgoing Mayor Anthony Williams and singer Jewel, and continued throughout the National all. Walkers were greeted along the way by various entertainers, including a capella groups and circus performers.

O’Rourke said that he was pleased that the walkathon has emerged into a Georgetown tradition in recent years.

“This is the fourth year Georgetown has participated in this event, and every year we draw a wide variety of people who aren’t necessarily active in other on-campus groups,” he said.

Tiffany Yu (MSB ’10) said that she was glad that she chose to attend HOPE’s biggest event of the year.

“I’m glad I woke up early to be a part of this walkathon because I think we made a good impact on the D.C. homeless community,” she said.

The walk marked the culminating event of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, a week of events on college campuses nationwide – including Georgetown – to promote better treatment for the homeless across the nation. Other events during the week included a poetry reading with homeless and formerly homeless people in Sellinger Lounge on Wednesday evening, a discussion of the government’s policies toward the homeless on Tuesday evening in the Gervase Conference Room, a panel discussion in St. ary’s on Friday evening and numerous service projects at local kitchens and tutoring centers.

The walk was co-sponsored by the Corp, the Center for Social Justice and several other campus organizations.