In West Virginia, 268,070 people are struggling with hunger, and of them, 76,970 are children, which means one in seven people and one in five children struggles with hunger, according to the Feeding America organization. INTO Marshall is providing a helping hand in raising money to provide food for food insecure people through a campaign called iGive.

“We are fundraising for the Facing Hunger Foodbank in the tri-state area,” said Anastasia Artayet Shepherd, a student services specialist at INTO Marshall. “They serve multiple counties in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. This is part of the INTO Giving iGive campaign.”  

In INTO Marshall’s campaign, all of the money donated though the iGive campaign will benefit Facing Hunger Foodbank, and INTO Giving increases donations by 20%, according to Shepherd. 

“If we raise 10 dollars, the extra two dollars from INTO will go to the foodbank,” Shepherd said. “Every dollar that is donated feeds people and equates 7.5 meals, so that’s a lot of food for a donation.” 

Shepherd said the campaign is a way to give back to the community and to help others, especially when the holiday season is approaching. 

“All the centers that are partnered with INTO are fundraising as part of the international education week,” Shepherd said. “We are using our international friends and families to give back to the community that we live, work and study in. This is a way for us to help others, use our privilege in international education to help the people that might not be fortunate during the holiday season.”

Money or food can be donated at the INTO Lobby from Nov. 18 to Nov. 22 or donated online via into-giving.com/igive. After Nov. 22, those interested in donating can go to Facing Hunger Foodbank’s website at facinghunger.org. 

Phuong Anh Do can be contacted at [email protected].