C.R.O.P. walkers raise $35K to end hunger

More than 300 walkers united in step Sunday afternoon to help stomp out poverty. Spring Lake Presbyterian Church hosted the annual C.R.O.P. Walk - which raised about $35,000 for Church World Service, an international organization focused on hunger. Participants dined on broth and bread at the church before walking around Spring Lake Village.

Marie Havenga

Spring Lake

Oct 3, 2011

“We served bread and broth to signify what the people we’re walking for might be eating,” event spokeswoman Sheila Riley said. “We’re signifying that they are walking for everything they need — food, water, jobs, health. We’re trying to step into their shoes for the day.”

Riley said 25 percent of the funds raised will stay local — benefiting Love INC., The Salvation Army and The People Center.

“This is our 37th year doing this in the area,” Riley said. “There are 30-some churches that come together to do this. It’s very powerful to walk shoulder to shoulder with 300 people. You really feel like you’re making a difference.

“People look at you from their cars or their homes and say, ‘Wow, they stand for something,’” she continued. “They come out and want to know what it is.”

Online:
For more information about the walk and how to donate, click here.