This Wednesday, Oct. 17, Engineers Without Borders (EWB) will hold its  third annual Beat the Crap Out of Poverty event on Memorial's St. John's campus.

EWB members will kick off the celebration by towing an old car to the front of the Memorial Tower and painting it with words that represent the global problems of poverty and hunger.

For a small fee, students will get the opportunity to smash the car with a baseball bat, crowbar or sledge hammer. All funds raised will go towards EWB’s outreach and overseas work. The event, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will also include a barbeque over the lunch hour. Past Beat the Crap out of Poverty events have been very successful and organizers are anticipating this to be the biggest yet.

The event will coincide with the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Hundreds of events are being planned around the world to commemorate this day and to try and make the voice of the poor heard.

MUN Oxfam’s Stand up Against Poverty, will also take place on Oct. 17. This organization is hosting activities across the MUN campus with the common theme of standing up against poverty.

At 1:30 p.m. Oxfam will try to get everyone in the University Centre to stand up for one minute in solidarity against poverty. This is part of an international event and will attempt to set the Guinness World Record for greatest number of people to stand up in support of a cause within a 24-hour period.

EWB, a student-based international development organization that promotes human development through access to technology, is one of the most active and successful groups at Memorial. By working in rural communities in areas such as water and sanitation, food production and affordable energy, EWB has a lasting impact on the people who need help the most.