CROP Walk — "We Walk because They Walk"

In the fall, tens of thousands of people in communities across the United States do something Americans usually do for recreation or exercise: They walk miles and miles through the streets of their communities to raise money to fund the domestic and international poverty and hunger relief efforts of Church World Service, the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 36 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations in the United States.

The event, which takes place on different Saturdays and Sundays in various parts of the country throughout the year, is called CROP WALK. The walk itself is also symbolic. It is a way of showing solidarity with people in developing countries around the world. In addition, local groups receive some of the funds raised to support hunger-related agencies and groups in their own communities.

More than $150 million has been raised by CROP WALKS in the past 10 years.

The reach of the millions of dollars raised through CROP WALKS is global. Church World Service uses some of the donations to fund its poverty- and hunger-fighting activities in some 80 countries.

In Kenya, East Africa, CROP WALK dollars are helping to dig wells in villages where walking is a matter of day-to-day survival. The wells provide a reliable, local source of clean water so that women and children don't have to spend a large part of their days getting water for drinking, cooking, washing, and agriculture. Less time spent walking may mean more time in a classroom.

Closer to home, CROP WALKS help feed local families who might otherwise go hungry by helping to fund local hunger-fighting initiatives such as food pantries and soup kitchens in towns and cities across the nation.

[Cited from Church World Service Organization*]

To learn more about the CROP Walk, visit the Official CROP Walk website at Church World Service Organization*. A FAQ* page provides answers to commonly ask questions, as well as interesting facts about the history of the CROP Walk.