The church I go to, Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW), does this walk for hunger in Holden every Fall called the CROP Walk. The CROP Walk is sponsored by an organization called Church World Service.  CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty. Last year, the seven churches involved in the walked raised $15,000.  My church sponsors the Loaves and Fishes food pantry and we received 12.5% of the funds raised from the walk.  Last year our food pantry received $1,900.

During the summer, the churches involved in the walk plan the event.  The committee's organizer makes a list of things that have to be done including: getting a parade permit, finding a driver to shuttle walkers, getting volunteers to help in the kitchen, finding someone to take photos of the walkers, setting up the band for after the walk, and setting up the halfway point church with volunteers. 

The committee meets again about two months before the walk to review what has been accomplished and to count how many walkers are signed up so far.  The checklist is reviewed to determine what still needs to be filled in with volunteers.  Then a date is set to meet after the walk when money collection is completed.

Each church contributes money for expenses.  One month before the walk, it is advertised at the churches.  It is mentioned in the church bulletin and an announcement is made each week.  In addition, two separate fundraisers are held before the walk to raise additional funds.  The first involves all churches inviting their members to purchase food on a specific night at Papa Gino's in Holden.  Papa Gino's contributes 20% of all food sales.  Last year, $350 was raised. The second is a concert by a group called the Jolly Beggars.  They are an Irish band and people have a great time listening and dancing to their music.  The band donates half of the proceeds from the sales of tickets to the walk.

My mom is the recruiter for our church and I help her.  Four weeks before the walk we set up a table after church to have people sign up for the walk. We try to get as many people as we can to take sponsor envelopes to gather donations. If a person is not walking, we ask for a donation.  You can pay by cash or check.

We also have a big poster with information on it that talks about the walk and why people do it.  My mom will put the instructions to join the UUCW Team online for people to sign up that way or to just make a donation.  When people come up to the table we also ask them if they can bake something or help out in the kitchen on the day of the walk.

The day of the walk the members of my church who are walking will meet in Fellowship Hall to get T-shirts and eat pizza, which our minister provides for us. After we eat, we all go to Immanuel Lutheran Church where the walk begins.  Immanuel Lutheran is right down the street from my church.  Registration starts at 1:00 and everyone that has collected donations will hand them in to my mom at the registration table. Each person is given a sticker that says "Stop Hunger". 

One of the pastors always says a prayer before the walk.  Then we all leave together as a group for the 3.5 mile walk.   The halfway point is St. Francis church where we rest and have some refreshments before heading back.  At the end of the walk, we gather at Immanuel Lutheran for soup and goodies and live music from a band called Hit the Bus. They are friends of my family's that we see perform often.

At the end of the walk I love seeing how much money we raise for the hungry all over the world.   One year funds were used to help the victims of hurricane Sandy.  Funds are also used to help third world countries become self-sustaining.  And locally our food pantry clients benefit. My mom and I volunteer at the food pantry to help distribute food so I get to see firsthand the benefits of our efforts. It makes me feel good that we are able to help feed so many people.