CROP Walk and work

   Local CROP (Communities Respond to Overcome Poverty) Walks help to relieve hunger here and around the world. Bethel area people will work and walk together to raise funds and awareness to overcome poverty. Walkers will walk 5K (3 miles) around Bethel village on Sunday, Sept. 26, 12:30 p.m., starting at the West Parish Congregational Church on Church Street. 25 percent of the funds stay locally, going to the Good Shepherd Food Bank, earmarked for Bethel and surrounding towns to use, like the District Exchange.

   Church World Service partners with aide agencies around the world to provide disaster relief as well as long-term micro-loans and development projects in over 80 countries. For example, while poverty has declined in some areas, like East Asia, in other regions, especially Africa, the number of persons living in extreme poverty has increased. Living at such a marginal level means an incredible vulnerability to changes  in climate, crop prices and health problems. Church World Service aims to get at the root of the problems of poverty and hunger.

   Last year the Bethel Area CROP Walk raised $3,100 toward the work of Church World Service. This year the Bethel area and some 2,000 cities and towns nationwide are joining together in interfaith community CROP Hunger Walks around the theme "Ending Hunger One Step at a Time." Many of the CROP Walkers will be wearing CROP Walk t-shirts, proclaiming their solidarity with millions of neighbors around the world who have to walk to live -- as well as with the millions served by local food pantries, food banks, and meal sites here in the U.S.

   For more information about the Bethel Area CROP Hunger Walk, contact Jane Chandler, jane.h.chandler@gmail.com or 357-3524.

Jane Chandler

Woodstock