VCU news

By Chad Meister

To go without a jacket in January seems an almost unthinkable proposition. However, as you walk the streets of Richmond after the beginning of the New Year, you will see those without coats, even some without so much as a sweater. As the city grows to accommodate its bright and seemingly busy future, its battle with homelessness is one that should not be left in the dark.

At the center of the city sits Virginia Commonwealth University, a contributor of thousands of residents to Richmond. Organizers of the “Nearly Naked Mile” – an event held on Nov. 6 to aid in the fight against homelessness – have attempted to take advantage of the university's large student, faculty and staff populations to help the university give back to the community it depends on.

The Nearly Naked Mile is neither a mile nor are the competitors actually naked. Rather, its participants run nearly a mile with very little clothing on their backs. Each competitor will feel their contribution; running with little clothing in the cold of November gives them a small sense of the struggle some face in the city.

Run by STAT – Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow, a VCU organization focused on student-alumni engagement – the race caps a clothing drive held at the university since the beginning of the current semester. Katherine Higgins, director of service and philanthropy for STAT, said this year’s campaign was different.

“We had the opportunity to create a type of competition among the residence halls on campus,” Higgins said. “We provided each of the 11 residence halls with donation boxes in each lobby. Getting the word out to the halls and providing those boxes will hopefully encourage residents to not only donate more but attend the actual event as well.”

All solo competitors participating in the race must bring one article of clothing or donate $10 upon arrival, while teams must donate $25 or have each individual member donate an article of clothing. To bring out more runners, STAT is offering prizes for best individual costume, best team costume, most spirited individual, most spirited team, most clothes donated by an individual and most clothes donated by a team.

Donations from the clothing drive and the race itself will go to HomeAgain, a Richmond-based organization with a mission to “assist homeless families and individuals in metro Richmond by providing emergency and transitional shelter, as well as programs designed to build skills leading to increased self-sufficiency and the ability to identify resources needed to obtain and maintain permanent housing.”

The Nearly Naked Mile will take place at Cary Street Field, 101 S. Linden St., Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. Those interested should register at https://www.support.vcu.edu/event/nnm2013 prior to the beginning of the race.

“Last year we had a few male participants do the warm-ups and race in only Speedos,” Higgins said. “This is a fun, awesome service event that has quickly turned into a tradition.”

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