CROP Walk Manchester needs volunteers and contributors for the Oct 2nd Walk

CROP Walk 2015. Photo courtesy of Lon Nordeen.

Hunger is one of the greatest injustices facing our world today. You can fight hunger right here in Manchester by walking 1 to 3 miles around your community and contributing on October 2, from 1 – 3 pm. Your effort will not only reduce hunger around the world but support the needy right here in our community!!

CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events, sponsored by Church World Service and organized by local congregations and groups to raise funds to reduce hunger at home and around the world. A Manchester CROP Walk has been held every year since 1995 and local contributors have raised nearly $120,000 for this important charity. Manchester should be proud that its citizens have consistently supported this important cause!

To register for the walk, talk with the CROP WALK representative at your church or call Marlene Uphaus at 734 428 8403

CROP Hunger Walks help to provide food and water, as well as resources that empower people to meet their own needs. From seeds and tools, to wells and water systems, to technical training and micro-enterprise loans, the key is people working together to identify their own development priorities, their strengths and their needs something CWS has learned through some 70 years of working in partnership around the world.

Last year there were 1,100 CROP WALK events at sites around the United States with 114,000 participants that raised $11 million! Each local CROP Hunger Walk can choose to return up to 25 percent of the funds it raises to hunger-fighting programs in its own community. Since the start of the program in Manchester, the local contribution has been divided among charities which provide important local activities including: The Community Resource Center, Manchester Family Services and Manchester Senior Citizens.

CROP stands for Christian Rural Overseas Program which was started as an agency for Christian World Services in 1946 to help starving countries in Europe after WWII. The walks started in 1969 and were the original fund raising effort. For nearly half a century, CROP Hunger Walks have ensured that more people worldwide have access to nutritious, sustainable food sources.

Please support your neighbors in Manchester who rely on food assistance programs and other support. Partner with parents worldwide as they ensure a bright future for their children. Support those struggling in the face of grinding poverty and open up new doors of opportunity for them.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.