College Joins Annual March to End Hunger

10/20/2014 

Members of the College and Cortland communities will once again come together to help build a healthier world by participating in the annual CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, Oct. 26. The event, part of a nationwide initiative, aims to increase public awareness of the prevalence and causes of hunger and to raise funds to combat it both locally and globally.

This year’s walk starts at Grace and Holy Spirit Church on 13 Court St. in Cortland. The walk takes place rain or shine.

Registration begins at the church at 1 p.m. The walk will follow at 1:30 p.m. Donations also will be taken at the walk or on the CROP Hunger Walk’s website. For online registration, or to donate online, visit the www.CROPHungerWalk.org/cortlandny.

According to organizers, locally organized Church World Service-sponsored CROP Hunger Walks are an important part of community life for more than 2,000 towns and cities in the U.S., bringing together people of different faiths, diverse cultures and all age groups.

Last year’s CROP Walk in the city of Cortland raised $11,000, with members of the college community supplying more than two thirds of the walkers and 43 percent of the donations. Twenty-five percent of the funds raised this year will be returned to the City of Cortland to feed hungry people.

Each year, CROP Hunger Walks help more than 3,200 local food pantries, food banks and meal sites in the U.S., according to the charity’s website.

“Not only does the event help out people globally, but it will assist the place in which we live and give people a good feeling amongst themselves,” said student co-organizer Catherine Faughnan.

“It is great for the community and it really is an enjoyable time to walk and see the whole town in which we live,” Faughnan said.

This year’s slogan is “10x$10.”

“That is, if each walker can raise $10 from 10 people, we could raise upwards of $30,000 to $40,000,” Faughnan said.

Blaze, SUNY Cortland’s mascot, will attend this year’s event, and the campus Greek organizations will be well represented, said Jim Miller, a lecturer in the College’s History Department and a lead organizer of local CROP Hunger Walk efforts.

“The students take an active, positive role in the community,” Miller said.

The College community annually contributes about two-thirds of the walkers, including these eager students, and collects 43 percent of the donations.

And those donations go a long way. A $150 donation can provide three farm families with everything they need to make nutritious and marketable honey — including training, hives and equipment. A $500 donation can provide 4,000 pounds of food for a local food bank or provide up to 400 meals in a soup kitchen.

For more information about the event, contact Susan Wilson, Vicki Johnson, Miller or Faughnan or visit the CROP Walk website.

Prepared by Public Relations Office intern Paul Barchitta