Hunger & Homelessness Auction 2013

With a goal of raising $30,000 for local charities, students in medicine, nursing, and public health held the 21st Hunger and Homelessness Auction on November 21.

Among the items offered at the auction in Marigolds—with the help of faculty auctioneers James Abrahams, M.D., Lawrence Rizzolo, Ph.D., William Stewart, Ph.D., Jack Hughes, M.D., and Michael O’Brien, M.D.—were stays at faculty vacation homes on Martha’s Vineyard and Las Vegas, cruises on Long Island Sound on faculty yachts, barbecue dinners at faculty homes, tickets to a Red Sox game, and a perennial favorite, 100 percent attendance at lectures by the first– and second–year classes.

Five charities will receive support from the auction’s proceeds: Christian Community Action’s Stepping Stone Transitional Housing Program, which helps families with skill training, parenting education, and income/budget training; the Columbus House Medical Respite Program that helps homeless patients that have been discharged from the hospital but are too sick to be on the streets or in shelters; Leap for Kids’ Healthy Living Initiative, which teaches inner city children about healthy eating habits; the Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry and Clothing Closet that serves clothing and food to those in need; and the Youth Continuum’s National Safe Place Program, the only street outreach program for homeless youth in the New Haven area.