Monday marks the kick-off of not only Homeless Awareness Week, but the annual Open Doors day. The Open Doors project is a major outreach program for homeless individuals and families.

“We (the University) invite them to campus for an afternoon of hospitality,” said Bernie Schaefer, director of the Community Outreach Center. “We feel this is one of the largest outreach programs in the city. The fact that we invite them to campus is special.”

The program, which is scheduled to last from 2 to 6 p.m. will allow for members of the homeless community to spent time on campus.

The clothing, toiletries, books and sleeping bags that University members have donated for the past six weeks will be distributed.

“We received many children’s clothes from the local elementary schools in the University’s tutorial program,” Schaefer said.

Sodehxo-Marriot will provide a full course meal for the attending homeless in the St. Louis Room. Sixty volunteers will be on hand to help distribute the items and serve the meal. The project organizers anticipate an attendance close to 400 people.

“There has always been a meal, but Sodehxo-Marriot really wanted to make it better this year with a full course,” Schaefer said.

Perhaps one of the most anticipated events of the Open Doors project is the distributing of new shoes to the children in attendance on Monday.

At the SLU Carnival, which will take place in the Argentum Room of the BMC, the shoes will be distributed, and volunteers will play games and take pictures. The shoes were donated by Payless Shoes and Shoe Carnival.

University members also provided cash donations to help pay for the children’s shoes. Plaza Frontenac provided 500 shopping bags for people to carry their items. One-hundred to 150 pairs of children’s shoes are expected to be distributed. The Staff Advisory Committee, or SAC, provided socks to be distributed with the shoes.

“The shoes are really a big hit,” Schaefer said. “We got very good things from the University as far as donations go.”

The Community Outreach Center will provide SLU Samaritan cards for University members in order to help the homeless. These cards will include information on the nearest homeless shelters to campus. University members can attain these cards at the center, Campus Ministry or at the various Homeless Awareness events throughout the week.

Anyone with last-minute donations can take them to the Outreach Center on the 3rd level of the BMC Another event the Center needs volunteers for is the April 29th Special Olympics.

“We are hoping to send SLU people to help out, possibly a couple hundred,” Schaefer said. Any campus organization is welcome to help.