SUNY Cortland students combat hunger

11/12/2021 

Fifteen teams of SUNY Cortland students raised nearly $10,000 during this year’s annual CROP Hunger Walk, in what national organizers say is the strongest student showing of any of the more than 2,000 CROP fundraising walks held across the nation.

A total of 318 members of the campus community registered to walk up to three miles through downtown Cortland on Oct. 24 in the 27th annual local event, which raises money for global and domestic anti-hunger programs. That means 85% of the 375 people who participated in the walk were Red Dragons.

“I've been involved in administration of the CROP Hunger Walk's online giving program for 20-plus years and have always been impressed with the level of student participation in the Cortland Hunger Walk,” said Daryl Stam, an administrator with Church World Services, the umbrella organization that co-ordinates the fundraising walks.

“I believe SUNY Cortland has the highest involvement of college students of any of our events.” 

With 15 student-organized teams, Cortland had more than any other university, Stam said. The next highest number was 11.

SUNY Cortland students, who solicited pledges of support from family and friends, raised 63% of the $15,914 generated by the local event. Local organizers Jim Miller, a former SUNY Cortland history lecturer, and Jeanine Rose, a tutor in the university’s Learning Center, believe it’s the most successful Red Dragon Crop Hunger Walk effort yet.

The biggest fundraising group was the SUNY Cortland softball team, with $2,531 in donations. Second was the men’s lacrosse team, with $1,969, followed by Delta Phi Epsilon sorority with $1,448.

Twenty-five percent of the funds raised in the county are returned to support local food pantries and feeding programs including the SUNY Cortland Cupboard.

Every year, plaques are awarded to the top fundraising teams. Miller will present those honors later this semester.