Student “Bottled” for Charity

If you've been to Farris Hall today you may have noticed a guy camping in the lobby. No need to panic. It's Michael J. Hinds and he is "bottling" himself in the lobby for charity.

Hinds will be bottled in the lobby for up to 57 hours as long as students donate a can of food an hour. His goal is to donate all the canned food to the Bethlehem House, a homeless shelter in Conway.

Hinds said the idea was inspired by previous honors college students, such as Jordyn Haught (Class of 2009) and Jacob Perry (Class of 2009), who each did similar canned food drives. Hinds put his own twist on the project by implementing his last name into his food drive. Get it?

This isn't quite the bottling that probably comes to mind when you hear it. This isn't a crazy Houdini or David Blaine type stunt, so Hinds will not be in any immediate danger. He simply designated an area of the Farris Hall lobby that he will call home for the next 57 hours.

You can visit Hinds from now until Saturday morning whenever you'd like for the price of one canned good, hygiene product, or 50 cents. Hinds plans to entertain his guests with such activities as board games, card games, Latin dance lessons, musical jam sessions, movies, and more.

I took a can of food to Farris Hall and visited Hinds in his "bottle" to get his thoughts on the project.

"For me, it connects me in to a community with the Honors College," Hinds said. "It is such a good community. We always have something going on for helping those who are less fortunate.

"One of the reasons I picked the Bethlehem House is because they can accept physical items. Also, they are local, and they help the homeless find jobs and establish their own residency. It really resonates well, particularly, with my own faith, how Jesus would help the homeless and those that society cast off to the side."

Hinds will be unbottled Saturday at 6 a.m.

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