Clemson Wordsmiths unite to benefit Needy

Clemson University’s most-honored fiction writers and poets will read selected works at the annual Writers’ Harvest being held at 7pm Nov. 21 in the Self Auditorium at the Strom Thurmond Institute. Attendees will be regaled by the works of novelist and poets Jillian Weise, Keith Lee Morris, Akel Kahera, Joseph Bates, John Pursley III, Mike Pulley, Angelina Oberdan, Alex Kudera, and Sarah Cooper. The event will also feature music performed by All Are Called. First launched by Share Our Strength, a national organization that works hard to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry, Writers’ Harvest events are held by writers and poets throughout the United States during the holiday season. Clemson has a long history of hosting the event and this year’s event was made possible by a sponsorship from the university’s Pearce Center for Professional Communication. The writers are requesting a donation of canned goods or cash in exchange for admission to the event. Checks made out to Loaves & Fishes will be accepted. “This benefit is a great opportunity to hear some of Clemson’s finest writers and support a very worthy cause,” says event coordinator and featured reader, Mike Pulley. With over 870,000 food insecure people in South Carolina, organizations committed to feeding those in need are finding their resources stretched to the limit. “The canned foods and monetary donations raised at the Writers’ Harvest are much needed this year with recent cuts in SNAP funding. Many of our agencies are facing empty shelves,” says Paulette Dunn, Executive Director of Loaves & Fishes. Loaves & Fishes is a non-denominational, 501(c) 3 non-profit bringing fresh and nonperishable food to the hungry daily. Loaves & Fishes, with the assistance of more than 100 volunteers, rescues perishable food from local restaurants, caterers, churches, grocery stores, wholesalers and distributors. Donated food is delivered the same day to more than 94 agencies that use that food to feed the hungry. Agencies served by Loaves & Fishes include emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, group homes, community centers, senior programs, after school and summer programs for at risk kids in addition to low-income housing for the elderly and disabled.  Loaves and Fishes’ services are free of charge to the agencies it serves.