After seven days of events, Hunger and Homelessness Week drew to a close on Saturday with the District’s 18th annual Help the Homeless Walkathon on the National Mall, which was attended by nearly 300 Georgetown students, faculty and administrators.

Hoyas Outreach Programs and Education organized the university’s participation in the walk and assisted students in attaining outside sponsorships. HOPE worked in coordination with the Fannie Mae Foundation’s Help the Homeless Program, which donated $50 for every student that registered with their organization.

Megan Liddle (COL ’06), a former co-chair of HOPE and event organizer, said that Georgetown participants raised at least $15,000. She said she was impressed that so many students were willing to wake up at 7:30 am on a Saturday morning and participate in the walk.

“Aside from just raising money, our real goal with the walk is to get Georgetown students doing something out of the ordinary, as a vehicle for thinking about the very real hunger and homelessness that is so prevalent in our community,” Liddle said.

Students paid a registration fee of $5 to take part in the event, taking a circuitous route around the National Mall amidst entertainment provided by musicians and circus performers.

“It seems like people are energized,” Julia Reticker-Flynn (COL ’08), a member of HOPE’s board, said during the event.

The walkathon is one of the largest single events sponsored by HOPE during the year.

Georgetown has officially participated in the walkathon for several years, and some HOPE members said that they are working to make it into a new tradition at the university.

“It’s a good way to get [students] thinking about homelessness for a few hours,” Liddle said. “It’s a little less intimidating this way.”

Nearly 180 different organizations that provide services for the homeless in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area will benefit from the Help the Homeless Program, according to the Fannie Mae Web site. Many of these groups are organizations that HOPE works with on a regular basis, such as Miriam’s Kitchen, the National Coalition for the Homeless and Samaritan Inns, Inc.

HOPE also received support from other university organizations including the Dean’s Office of the School of Foreign Service, the Center for Social Justice, the philosophy department and The Corp, among other groups, Liddle said.

She also said that several members of the District’s homeless community attended the walkathon, giving the event “a real feeling of family.”

In addition to participation in the walkathon, the Fannie Mae Foundation encouraged area schools, community programs and faith-based organizations to hold “mini-walks” of 30 minutes or longer on their group’s property, according to the foundation’s Web site.

The walkathon was the third major event of Hunger and Homelessness Week. Other events included a dinner discussing the relationship between domestic violence and homelessness and a poetry reading held at Uncommon Grounds.