‘We walk because they walk'

CROP Hunger Walk in Monroe celebrates tenth anniversary on Oct. 22 Monroe - Organizers of the tenth annual Monroe CROP Hunger Walk are looking to recruit 150 walkers and raise $12,000 to help fight hunger locally and wherever else people need a meal. The walk takes place on Sunday, Oct. 22, which Village of Monroe Mayor John Karl III has declared as “CROP Walk Day.” Registration is at 2 p.m. and the five-kilometer walk, which begins and ends at the United Methodist Church of Monroe at 47 Maple Ave., starts at 2:30 p.m. CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty. The Monroe CROP Walk is one of about 2,000 hunger walks taking place around the country this year. These interfaith, community events are sponsored by Church World Service, the relief, development, and refugee assistance arm of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. The walk’s motto is: “We walk because they walk,” they being the people of the world who must walk hours each day for food, water, firewood, and other essentials. Since the Crop Walk started in Monroe in 1997, more than $60,000 has been raised. At last year’s walk in Monroe, more than 100 walkers raised about $8,000. A portion of the funds raised this year will go to the Monroe Food Pantry, the Monroe Presbyterian Church Food Pantry and the Highland Mills Methodist Church Food Pantry in Woodbury. Some of the money also will be used by Church World Service to help victims of natural disasters including Hurricane Katrina and the 2006 summer storms. To help celebrate the Monroe walk’s tenth anniversary, two local clowns, Salt and Pepper, will be at the beginning of the walk. CROP Hunger Walk T-shirts and caps also will be sold. Sponsor envelopes are available from area congregations such as Monroe Methodist Church and First Presbyterian Church of Monroe. For more information about the Monroe CROP WALK, contact Fred Schuepfer at 782-8386.