Students will have a chance to raise awareness of and generate funds to combat global hunger during the Paly Key Club-hosted Fast for Awareness overnight event from 6 p.m. on Friday to noon on Saturday in the small gym.

This is the first year that an overnight stay will accompany Fast for Awareness at Paly, according to junior Key Club President Erika Ji.

“The first year [Key Club hosted Fast for Awareness], it was an afternoon event, so we stayed until the evening,” Ji said. “Last year, we tried to do something similar to the Day of Silence where students would fast and then they would wear a pin that’d say, ‘I’m fasting. What are you doing to change world hunger?’ For this year, we’re really trying to make it the full event that it can be.”

Entertainment including video games, movies and board games, as well as service projects that involve writing and arts and crafts are scheduled activities for the overnight stay, according to Ji.

All participants are required to have at least a $30 sponsorship to participate in the 30-hour-long fast and will receive 24 hours of community service for their involvement in the fundraiser. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Action Against Hunger, “a non-profit organization combating hunger through both short-term and long-term programs in third-world countries,” Ji said.

Sophomore Key Club Co-Vice President Kevin Hu says that Key Club hopes to raise at least $2,000 from Fast for Awareness this year, compared to the $1,598.16 that were raised and donated during last year’s fast. By the end of last Friday, the original sign-up deadline for Fast for Awareness, 65 students turned in forms to participate in the event, according to Hu. By Tuesday, the extended deadline date, the total number of participants rose to around 85, according to Ji. Because of the minimum sponsorship of $30 per person, Key Club will no doubt exceed its fundraising goal.

In addition to raising funds to fight global hunger, the event itself is anticipated to raise awareness about its cause among both participants and the general community.

“Students fast for 30 hours and so they gain a personal awareness of hunger,” Ji said. “They [participants] can ask for donations and spread awareness that way as well.”

Non-participants of Fast for Awareness can still contribute by making online donations or contacting a Key Club officer directly, according to Ji.

After Fast for Awareness, Key Club will redirect its efforts to publicizing and fundraising for upcoming Relay for Life events in Campbell and at Paly in July and August, respectively.

“We’ll [Key Club will] be hopefully having a promotion for the Relay for Life sometime during one of the upcoming lunches,” Ji said. “We will also fundraise for the event throughout the summer. We’re planning on holding car washes at Paly, we’re probably going to plan several dinner fundraisers at local restaurants, we’re trying to host a dance somewhere at an outside venue, and we’re possibly going to hold bake sales as well.”