HUNTERSVILLE – St. Mark Catholic School eighth-graders participating in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine got a glimpse into the lives of the more than one billion people who go hungry worldwide.

On Thursday and Friday, April 14 and 15, they joined thousands of young people across the nation in the 30-hour fast. Prior to the event, students raised funds, knowing that every $30 collected could feed and care for a child for one month.

Students also engaged in empathy-creating activities, such as a prayer vigil for hunger victims and a hands-on community service. Students began their fast at 5 p.m. on Thursday and ended it with a meal of soup, bread and water in the school cafeteria at 8:30 p.m. Friday. A car wash on April 8 at the school also helped raise money for the event.

Since 1992, the nationwide 30 Hour Famine has raised almost $140 million that World Vision has distributed in nearly 100 countries.