For Calhoun, Ga., resident Maria Zamora, a fundraiser for Gordon County's homeless population is going well, but she said she may not be the best person to ask.
"To me it's fine, but you'll have to ask the people sitting next to me," said Zamora, who has been wearing the same shirt for about two weeks without spinning it through the wash.
Since the beginning of November, she and more than 30 other Gordon residents have vowed to wear the same neon-green shirts for a month without washing them to remind the wearers of the hardships faced by homeless people.
Roberta Charbonneau, coordinator for Family Connection of Gordon County, said the idea came from a board member and is intended to raise awareness as well as money to put homeless families in motels. So far it's working, especially when it comes to attracting attention, she said.
"Everyone will say, 'Have you washed it yet?'" she said.
Charbonneau said the campaign has helped raise awareness of an issue that's often overlooked in rural areas such as Gordon County.
"Rural homelessness looks different than in urban areas," she said. "You will not see someone pushing a buggy with all of their possessions down the street in downtown Calhoun -- it's hidden."
In such areas, homeless people often live with family members, in campers or tents, or sometimes pack into rental property with several other families, she said.
TO LEARN MOREFor more information about the Family Connection of Gordon County, visit www.gordonconnection.org or call 706-624-1290.
"That is happening all over this county," said Charbonneau, who said the sagging economy has made things worse. "It's hitting us. It's hitting all of Northwest Georgia."
Last year, 10 percent of schoolchildren in the county school system were classified as homeless, according to Gordon County Family Connection.
Because the county does not have a homeless shelter, many people live in extended-stay motels. Charbonneau said the best deal she could find at a motel was $232 per week, so that is the amount each shirt wearer has pledged to raise before they wash their shirts.
Charbonneau said she raised the money in about nine days, so she was able to wash her shirt, but others, including Zamora, are taking a little longer.
Zamora, who got involved in the project through her work with the Latinos for Education and Justice Organization, says her Girl Scout troop and a class at a local school are chipping in to help her raise the money.
"I'll go until the 30th if I need to," she said.