News-Virginian Covers The Walk

No mean feat
By Alicia Petska
The News Virginian
Monday, October 1, 2007

Sometimes it takes more than just a set of willing hands to get a good dinner on the table. As the Rev. John McDonald put it on Sunday, “Today, we’re asking you to feed people with your feet.”

This unusual directive was essentially the mission Sunday afternoon, when some 300 people gathered to participate in the 32nd annual CROP Walk, a world hunger fundraiser organized by area churches.

Over the course of a three-mile trek that started and ended in Ridgeview Park, volunteers raised thousands to help anti-hunger organizations both locally and abroad. Fundraising totals for this year won’t be available until late October, when all pledges are scheduled to be collected, said organizers.

Last year, the Waynesboro-East Augusta CROP Walk raised $32,000, making it the most successful walk in the state. Every year, a quarter of all proceeds are reserved for local charities such as the Salvation Army and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

Powered by a non-denominational partnership of close to two-dozen churches, the CROP Walk has consistently grown over the decades, drawing in four new churches this year alone.
For Cecil Boggs, one of the walk’s oldest participants at age 81, the charity event was so important that he decided to bring his family this year, right down to his great-grandchildren, ages 14 and 9.

“It raises money, and it also raises awareness,” said Boggs, a Dooms area resident whose full white beard and old, crooked walking staff give him the appearance of a modern-day disciple. “Not a lot of people my age can walk this far. I told them at my church [the Blue Ridge Church of the Brethren] that I was walking for all the older folks.”

Boggs’ daughter, Rebecca Jones of Lyndhurst, said she’d like to get her own church involved with next year’s walk. It was her father’s enthusiasm for the effort that convinced her to try it this year, she added.

“I figured if he could do it, I should be able to do it,” explained the 53-year-old. “It’s a nice way to get out, have some fellowship and help other people.”

We've Made The Big Time! (Well, at least caught the attention of Step-By-Step Fundraising in New York)

The article by Alicia Petska for the News-Virginian caught the eye of Abigail Beal, who writes for the internet think tank, Step-By-Step Fundraising.com, and she contacted us to find out more about our Walk AND to find out the "secret to our success." The interview was conducted with Randy and Jan over the phone and the resulting article has been posted at http://charitymile.com/blog/33rd-annual-crop-walk-scheduled-for-waynesboro-virginia-september-30th/.

Here is an excerpt:

(begin quote)

“Before us, people have been interested in keeping the CROP walk going during lean times. I became involved in doing the CROP walk fifteen years ago. One woman was involved in the CROP walk and she sent out a postcard and she said ‘We have one last shot to do a crop walk’ and everyone showed up. So there have been people that have kept it going. Now we are on the steering committee responsible for keeping it going,” said Lohr.

They had a challenging time with their 30th Anniversary CROP walk. “Hurricane Katrina hit and fundraising was quite difficult. Last year’s walk realized most of its goals: it had 300 walkers and raised $32,000. We try to increase the goal and the challenge every year,” said Lohr. With this year’s CROP walk they expect to raise between $30,000 – 32,000.

Both Lohr and Tobias explain that having a dedicated committee makes the event successful. They are pleased with the success of the event but they are always looking to build and are open to adding more committee members, more volunteers that are enthusiastic about the Waynesboro-East Augusta CROP Hunger Walk. “It’s just an event that has a lot of coherence, it’s an event that a lot of people can do. It is an expression of the church and it succeeds in that way as well. I just happened to be an individual taken with that concept and planning it. We are always looking for people who have that passion for it,” said Lohr. Lohr explains that Steering Committee members cannot leave the committee unless they have ‘tapped’ someone to be groomed to replace them.

“It is important to have the long term continuity. But keeping our eyes out for and looking for new people like we were. As we’ve thought about it, this has not been an unbroken success. I’m sure we are not going to be number one in the state every year. We are always encouraging new members in the steering committee, new people in the CROP walk,” said Tobias.

(end quote)

So, as you might guess, there is no real "secret to our success," at least not in any strategy or gimmick that we might employ to bolster the amount of money we've raised. Rather, it's a matter of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. And I believe we know Who to thank for that!

Snapshots From the Music Fest

Here are a few pictures from our first annual CROP Music Fest that was held on Saturday, Aug. 11, in the field at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

At the top we have the Micah Watson Band, the "house band" from Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton, Virginia, delivering up one of their worshipful originals; from left to right: T Fortune, Micah Watson, Jason Gardner, and Joe Blount. These guys rocked! Check them out at http://www.micahwatsonband.com/.








Next is Jan T presenting the check for $2001 to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank rep, Ruth Jones. The Food Bank is one of four local agencies that our Crop Hunger Walk supports. It is located in Verona and supplies most of the area food closets with food stuffs and other household items. Find out more about the Food Bank by clicking on the link in the Links section below on the left.





The crowds were entertained between sets by David Rose the Jugglerman all the way from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Actually David also plays drums in the legendary cult band, RockSalt, that once upon a time (1997-98) served as the house band at the Solid Rock Cafe. RockSalt reunited for this event and opened up the festival with an ecelectic set of covers ranging from Neil Young and the Beatles to Audio Adrenaline and Derek Webb. As a special treat, drummer David brought his bag of juggling tricks and put on quite a show.






And here's Jan again, presenting another $2001 check, this time to Terry Team, director of the Daily Living Center, an extension of the Valley Program for Aging Services. Can't you tell that Jan just LOVES to give away money!?








Covenant played third and closed out the festival with a set of devotional songs that truly gave the glory and praise to God. The band is affiliated with Faith Point Church in Waynesboro and has begun to really make a name for itself in our area and around the state. From left to right: Mack, Richard, Roc, Tammy, Philip, Tanya, and about half of Randy on bass. You can find more about Covenant at http://www.covenantband.net/.

CROP hunger events address hunger and poverty, locally and globally--for 60 years

NEW YORK / ELKHART, IN -- March 1, 2007 -- The humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) announces the start of its spring season of CROP community fund-raising walks -- and the 60th anniversary CROP events. Since 1947, Church World Service’s CROP community events have provided an effective means for individuals, congregations, and communities to respond to humanitarian needs worldwide.

While CROP Hunger Walks have largely replaced the grain canvasses of an earlier era, the goal remains the same: Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty. Some 2,000 communities across the country participate in CROP events each year, raising funds for local hunger-fighting agencies as well as for the international relief and development efforts of CWS. The agency works in partnership in some 80 countries globally, and has offices in South America, East Africa, Southern Africa, Pakistan/Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Indonesia.

CWS Indonesia is helping residents of Banda Aceh to rebuild their homes and livelihoods after the tsunami two years ago. In Pakistan CWS is working with the remote populations still affected by the massive earthquake and by overriding poverty. Many people are still in temporary shelters, and are learning new trades to support themselves. CWS Vietnam has brought water and sanitation to schools and villages in the mountains. And in the vast Chaco region of South America, CWS is working with indigenous populations to establish legal claim to their ancestral lands and establish sustainable enterprises to support their communities.

CWS also provides relief and recovery assistance when disasters strike in the United States. CWS is working with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild homes in the Gulf Coast and provided “care for the caregivers” workshops to the traumatized clergy and relief personnel who have worked throughout the Gulf Coast region.

With up to 25 percent of the funds raised by a CROP Hunger Walks going to support local hunger-fighting efforts in the U.S., CROP Hunger Walks gather churches, synagogues, mosques, school classes, and youth groups to help alleviate hunger at home and around the world.

Each day, more than 27,000 children die from hunger, malnutrition, dirty water, and preventable illnesses like diarrhea and malaria, according to the United Nations Children's Fund.

CROP Hunger Walkers are committed to raising funds and awareness to make a difference in the global fight against hunger and poverty. One 94-year-old Walker in California has been participating for 28 years. One group in Indiana walked despite recent tornadoes. They walked through a rainstorm in San Luis Obispo, California. CROP Walkers remember the millions of people around the world who walk for water, for food, to get to school, to get to jobs. "We walk because they walk," is the motto of CROP Hunger Walks.

Local CROP Hunger Walks can be found by visiting http://www.churchworldservice.org/crop/index.html or by calling 888-CWS-CROP.

Regional media contact: Toll-free 888-297-2767
Media Contact: Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
lcrosson@churchworldservice.org

2006 Waynesboro-East Augusta Crop Hunger Walk #1 in Virginia!

Well, after years of coming in second or third behind Charlottesville and the northern Virginia Walks, our area Crop Hunger Walk raised the most money of any Walk in Virginia in 2006. The total amount raised was right at $32,045.

Kudos to St. John's Evangelical Catholic Church for raising the most money from one congregation, with a total of $8,999. And hats off to Michelle Kresge who served as St. John's recruiter and in her first year in that position set a Waynesboro-East Augusta Walk record! (Just one question though: didn't someone have one more dollar they could have spared? Ha! Just kidding!)

The congregation with the most members participating was Tinkling Spring Presbyterian with 32 walkers. Thanks to Ann Gregory, Tinkling Spring's recruiter, for her help in getting the folks out.

We'd also like to recognize a congregation that had not been able to participate for a number of years and which came back in with a "bang": Shiloh Baptist. With the recruiting work of Veronica Davis to motivate them, Shiloh raised $661 dollars for the Walk, a remarkable effort. Way to go, Shiloh!

In the end, however, the success of the Walk rests on everybody that took part, from the smallest to the biggest, because each dollar raised counts and will make a difference in the work to address the problem of hunger in the world, both globally and locally.

So thanks to all of you who walked and who helped. And thanks to the One from whom all blessings flow and to Whom all blessings return, whose Word truly creates, redeems, and sustains all things, whose Spirit moves and renews the earth.

News-Virginian Article on CROP Music Fest

Concert to kick off CROP Walk
By ALICIA PETSKA
The News Virginian
Saturday, August 11, 2007

The Waynesboro-East Augusta CROP Walk is used to being No. 1.

With more than 30 years spent raising money for the world’s hungry, this church-organized charity trek has often topped statewide rankings when it comes to donations raised per capita. Last year, it shed even that qualified title to become the biggest walk in Virginia, period, raising more money than larger communities such as regional rival Charlottesville.

“We were pretty happy to beat them out,” joked co-chairman Jan Tobias.

Now entering its 32nd season, the CROP Walk is kicking off its donation drive from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday with an outdoor benefit concert at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

A free show for all ages, the lineup includes Christian bands Covenant, from Faith Point Church in Waynesboro; Rock Salt, whose members include Bethlehem Lutheran pastor and walk co-chairman Randy Lohr; and the Micah Watson band from Newport News.

Refreshments and children’s activities also will be offered. Organizers will be accepting donations for CROP Walk and signing up walkers for the main event, which takes place Sept. 30.

CROP Walk, which takes participants on a three-mile route through Waynesboro, raises money for local and international charities, focusing on issues related to hunger.

Local beneficiaries this year, who will split 25 percent of the overall proceeds, are the Salvation Army, the Daily Living Center, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, the Valley Program for the Aging Services’ homebound meals delivery program, and - new this year - a soup kitchen started by Second Presbyterian Church in Waynesboro.

Last year, 300 walkers from about two dozen area churches participated in this multi-denominational event, a turnout organizers would like to see repeated. A total of $32,000 was raised.

This marks the first year a concert will serve as the kick-off event.

Traditionally, a small-scale rally has been organized to start what will be six weeks of ensuing fundraising for walk volunteers. Attendance there had waned over the years, though, as longtime volunteers increasingly chose to skip the predictable event.

“It became harder and harder to get people out here,” said Lohr. “People would come, pick up their materials and scoot.”

Added Tobias, “They don’t want to go to a rally and hear the same old stuff. This [the concert], we hope, will be a new way to get them excited, get them ready for CROP Walk.”

For more information on Saturday’s concert or to learn how to participate in CROP Walk, please contact any member of the steering committee: the Rev. Randy Lohr, 942-1290; Jan Tobias, 943-7696; Linda Thompson, 949-8366; the Rev. Glen Holman, 941-2450; Marty and Adam Siebken, 337-4581; or Bill and Peggy Garvey, 949-0034.

Check It Out
WHAT: Waynesboro-East Augusta CROP Walk benefit concert
WHEN: 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Ladd Road (just east of the U.S. 340 intersection, near the P. Buckley Moss Museum)
ADMISSION: No charge, donations welcome

Contact Alicia Petska at apetska@newsvirginian.com