ND8, a student group fighting poverty in the Third World, hoped to lure students away from the dining halls Wednesday and over to Eddy Street to support a fundraising event held at Five Guys.
Ten percent of proceeds from sales between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. benefitted Second Chance, a Toledo, Ohio based organization supporting the victims of domestic sex trafficking.
Sophomore Erin Hattler, ND8 co-president, said the organization aims to combat trafficking through advocacy.
"Second Chance is a social service program that provides comprehensive services to victims of domestic sex trafficking and prostitution, specializing in women and children," Hattler said. "It focuses on raising community awareness, and trying to end exploitation through advocacy, securing resources for treatment and training for first responders."
Sophomore John Gibbons, co-president of ND8, said the group chose Second Chance because it directly addresses the challenges that trap victims in the cycle of trafficking.
"Often, victims of sex trafficking are likely to go back into sex trafficking because they don't know what else to do, and there aren't enough resources devoted to helping them," Gibbons said. "Second Chance provides a place where they can get away from everything, eventually brining them back to society and something of a normal life."
Bill Purcell, associate director for Catholic Social Tradition and Practice at the Center for Social Concerns, came to eat at Five Guys to support ND8's efforts.
"Our whole family came to support the work against human trafficking, which often gets hidden in today's society," Purcell said. "This was a great way to benefit the local community's economy, to get something to eat and to help the universal problem of human trafficking."
Freshman Erin O'Brien confessed to having dual motives for eating dinner at Five Guys.
"It's for a good cause and a good excuse to go get great food off campus," she said.
Hesburgh Library librarian Elizabeth Van Jacob brought her daughter Jemma to Five Guys in support of the event. Jemma, a student at John Adams High School, said she was glad to see the issue being addressed.
"While studying through home schooling a few years ago, I read about this issue," Jemma Van Jacob said. "It's good to act locally to tackle this issue."
Elizabeth Van Jacob said the gravity of the problem demands attention.
"I can't believe that this issue is still going on and that it's going on in the United States," Elizabeth said. "This affects a lot of adolescent girls and boys, and we are completely opposed to this sort of violence."
