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September 28, 2008

Walkers raise money to combat hunger

By Debbie Robinson

news@joplinglobe.com

More than 200 people of all ages walked Sunday afternoon in downtown Joplin to raise money to help lift people out of poverty.

The 15th annual Crop Walk began at the Salvation Army at Eighth Street and Kentucky Avenue, and proceeded through the downtown area with a mile walk and a three-mile walk.

Walkers from 10 churches in Webb City and Joplin, and students from Seneca and McAuley Catholic High School in Joplin provided large groups.

Walkers raised money for the event and sought pledges from the public to go toward the cause. While that amount had not yet been totaled Sunday evening, the local group raised $10,000 last year.

Twenty-five percent of the money raised locally Sunday will go to the Salvation Army, Crosslines Ministries and Lafayette House. The remaining funds will go to Church World Service, a coalition of more than 35 denominations, to provide assistance to refugees and to develop long-term solutions to hunger in the United States and in 60 other countries.

Eileen Nichols, coordinator of the walk, praised local churches for their efforts to raise money, and she said others also walked to raise awareness of the plight of the hungry.

“All major religions are commanded to feed the hungry,” she said.

Crop Walk is vehicle for doing that, and also for giving people the tools they need to feed themselves, she said.

“This is something we call all do together,” Nichols said.

Nichols, who is the director of the Webb City Farmers’ Market, said the Crop Walk program has made a difference, but not enough.

“I have a real passion for feeding the hungry,” she said. “I feel deep in my heart that no one should go hungry.”

St. Philip’s Episcopal Church at Seventh Street and Byers Avenue provided water and refreshments for the walkers as they made their way through the downtown.

Outside the church were signs, such as one that read: “Over 852 million people around the world are hungry.”

Jimmye Dean Fagan, of Joplin, a member of First Presbyterian Church in Joplin, was walking with her 11-month-old standard poodle, Jacque.

She said she was walking for the Salvation Army because of the work it does to help the less fortunate.

Emily Pekarek, 15, a student at McAuley Catholic High School, said she was walking in an effort to raise awareness of the number of people who go hungry.

Many of the walkers wore Crop Walk T-shirts or carried Crop Walk signs as they walked along sidewalks in the downtown area.

Two of those walkers were Nichols’ 82-year-old parents, Frances and Bob Nichols.

“We think it’s a good cause,” Bob Nichols said. “We’ve been doing this for several years.”

The couple said people need to be aware of hunger in the world.

“People need to open their hearts and their pocketbooks more,” Frances Nichols said. “We need to share.”





Background

Crop Hunger Walk began in 1947. Crop is an acronym for the Christian Rural Overseas Program. Its primary mission when it started was to send grain from Midwest farmers to other countries, according to www.cropwalk.org.

This year, the organization expects to distribute nearly $4 million to food banks, pantries, community gardens and other local efforts nationwide.

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