Media Credit: Jordan Jessup Leonardo Campus, president of UNH’s Electronic Dance Music Association, found himself deejaying an unusual party this past Friday night. Standing behind a booth set up at The Hamel Recreation Center he nodded his head to the music and watched rock climbers standing by the facility’s bouldering wall. Every so often, an individual from the huddled mass launched him or herself up from the crowd and into the competition.

The competition was put on by the Outdoor Adventures program, the main sponsor for the event was Climb for the Cure, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to fighting local and global hunger. This second annual event sought to bring together outdoor enthusiasts and social activism for a night of competition, music, and awareness. Registered climbers and spectators donated money and food to benefit the NH Food Bank and the Dover Food Pantry.

“We’ve been planning this since the beginning of July,” said Lauren Wesnak, Co-Founder and Fundraising Director of Climb for the Cure. “This involved hours and hours of hard work and a lot of heart.” Wesnak, along with Co-Founder and Event Planner Adam Hawes, who is also a facilitator for Outdoor Adventures and climbing wall manager for Campus Recreation, started Climb for the Cure after seeing the spirit of climbers in the UNH community.

Both UNH alumni, Wesnak and Hawes plan fundraising events in the Durham area centered around educating the community on a hunger crisis that many people do not realize is occurring. According to the organization’s website, every dollar donated to Climb for the Cure results in four meals for those suffering from hunger in the local area, the nation and the world.