LIBERTY, Mo. -- Students tried to catch some moments of slumber at William Jewell College as they slept inside cardboard boxes in an effort to promote homelessness awareness.

The students sleeping outside were raising money for Synergy Homeless Shelter in Parkville, Mo., a shelter specifically for young homeless people in the metro.

Each one of these students was asked to raise $100 for the shelter.

Synergy said on any given night in Kansas City, 2,000 young people in the Kansas City metro are homeless. Synergy offers some of them a place to stay each night.

The students said they watched the movie "Pursuit of Happyness" together and tried to stay warm on a chilly night.

The event at William Jewell was one of many events around the metro designed to raise awareness for homeless young people.