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.”
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.”
1 comment:
Great work, y'all! Wonderful to see all those walkers on a beautiful fall day. And excellent news coverage too. I especially liked the angle of the 81-year-old walker who did it for "all the old folks", and brought his family along too. Next year, even more walkers and funds! Maybe we really can take a bite out of hunger.
Post a Comment