Walking down Liberty Street early Saturday morning among a crowd of more than 1,000 people, Ball State students Katie Morario, Jen Robbins and Jordan Thomas talked about their personal experiences encountering homeless people.
The three students were participants of the eighth annual "Walk a Mile in My Shoes," an event organized by the Muncie Mission. The fundraiser started at 8 a.m. with registration and the walk starting at 9 a.m. after a brief ceremony.
Ray Raines, executive director of the Muncie Mission, said he estimated about $45,000 was raised just before the walk. He said he expected the number to be higher after donations made during and after the walk.
The funds go toward ongoing and future programs at the Muncie Mission.
"It's just nice to know there is still interest to see us continue what are doing," Raines said.
Morario, a freshman English and theatre education major, said this was the first time she and her friends participated in the event and thought the walk brought a message across.
"We just had a really good discussion about where we've seen [homelessness] in our lives and different experiences we've had personally and our thoughts on helping people," she said. "[The event] really made you think."
Hundreds of people walked from the Muncie Central Fieldhouse to the Muncie Mission. The purpose of the walk is to raise awareness of the hardships homeless people face living without a shelter.
Thomas, a sophomore art history and theatre major, said the weather Saturday morning was good for raising awareness among people who walked.
"It really makes you think about living on the street and it makes me feel really blessed," she said. "It makes you think about ways you can help."
Thomas had heard about the event and made her own Facebook page about it, inviting friends to join her. Next year, she said she plans on recruiting more people to participate.
Some teams were formed and some people walked individually. A group from the Selma United Methodist Church also brought buckets of water to carry to the Muncie Mission and raise awareness of the world's current situation.
Adam Sewell said this was the first time he had participated in the Walk a Mile in Muncie, and it made him think about how the event gave him a good idea of what it would be like to be homeless.
"A mile is nowhere near what it would take to get truly the message across," he said. "We really don't know what it would be like to be in their shoes unless we spent the night outside or we had to deal with what they have to deal with on a daily basis. We are blessed to be able to be the people that we are and to be able to provide what we can."
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