25th Annual CROP Hunger Walk Bolsters the GPHC Food Pantry
By Pauline Miles, Park Hill United Methodist Church
On Sunday, October 21, the 25th Annual Park Hill CROP Hunger Walk will reactivate the partnership between two lead churches, Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church and Park Hill United Methodist Church, by bringing together CROP (Communities Reaching Out to People) walkers from our community to support the work of Church World Service and the GPHC Food Pantry.
Founded in 1946, Church World Service (CWS) has provided interfaith opportunities through local community CROP Hunger Walks to meet the challenge of increasing access to nutritious food for hungry people around the block and around the world. Each year people in more than 2,000 communities across the U.S. join together in some 1,600 CROP Hunger Walks that are a reflection of the determination of members of faith communities, civic organizations and businesses to end the scourge of hunger and malnutrition at home and abroad.
Each year, the CWS uses 75% of the funds raised by CROP Walks to provide disaster relief, emergency food supplies, refugee resettlement and self-help economic development to more than 80 countries worldwide. This year again, 25% of the proceeds of the Park Hill CROP Hunger Walk are donated to the GPHC Food Pantry on Fairfax Street to provide support for needy families in this community.
In addition to the fundraising effort, many of this year’s CROP Walk participants will join in a post-walk workday to renovate the Food Pantry in an effort to make it more functional and inviting for families in need. As a result of those efforts, the GPHC Food Pantry, which suspended services this summer in order for the organization to regroup and improve services, is tentatively slated for reopening the last week in October.
Over the years, this interfaith CROP Hunger Walk has involved the following area churches and a synagogue: Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Center of Light, *Cure d’Ars Catholic Church, *Fireside Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), *Messiah Lutheran Church, Montclair Community United Methodist Church, *Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church,*Park Hill Congregational United Church
of Christ, *Park Hill United Methodist Church, St Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church, St. John’s Cathedral, *St. Thomas Episcopal Church and *Temple Micah. (The star represents participation in this year’s CROP Hunger Walk).
You are cordially invited to join in walking in the Park Hill CROP Hunger Walk on October 21st. The start time and the route of the CROP Walk will be posted on street signs two weeks before the walk. If you are unable to participate in person, you are invited to make a donation by going online to cropwalk.org.
Pauline Miles can be reached at pubrelatpm@aol.com or call PHUMC, 303-322-1867; or contact Rev. Sheri Fry at fry@montview.org or call Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church at 303-355-1651.