Walk against HUNGER
CROP Walk organizers: Poverty is at its worst

ABOVE: Volunteers from area churches walk along Joseph Montoya Boulevard on Sunday for the annual CROP Walk, which is sponsored by the Church World Services organization. The walk, which collects money to help combat world hunger, is the 12th year in a row that it has been held in Gallup. CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty. BELOW: A motorist honks at CROP walkers as they head east on HIstoric Route 66 Oct. 14, 2007. Twenty-five percent of the money raised from the walk stays within the community to help combat local poverty. — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — A couple of hours and a couple of miles. And of course some money to sponsor those who walk.

That’s what local CROP Walk organizers are asking local residents — family members, friends, youth groups, civic organizations, and churches — to donate on Sunday, Oct. 19.

Gallup’s 12th Annual CROP Walk, which stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty, will be held at 2 p.m. that day, starting at the Community Pantry, Gallup’s local food bank. Sponsored by Church World Service, which operates in 80 countries, CROP Walk raises money for food programs locally and for clean water projects, sustainable agriculture programs, and disaster relief globally.

In Gallup, some of the money raised will go to help restock the nearly empty emergency food shelves at the Community Pantry. And for Hilda Kendall, the food bank’s logistics director, the assistance is sorely needed.

“We are out of emergency food,” Kendall said on Tuesday. The rising cost of fuel and food has left many more people requesting help from the Community Pantry, she said. “A lot of them have dipped into their savings,” Kendall said, “and now their savings are gone.”

“This is worse than I’ve seen it,” she added.
“I think we have serious poverty issues in this county,” agreed Sally Carter, a CROP Walk volunteer. She believes the project is important to Gallup and McKinley County because a fourth of the donations stay in the local community. In addition, walkers can designate where their global contributions go if they want, Carter explained, from a selection of Church World Service programs around the world.
According to CROP Walk organizers, community members interested in walking on Oct. 19 are invited to pick up registration packets from Betsy Windisch at Gallup’s First United Methodist Church, 1800 Red Rock Dr., Sister Mary Thurlough at Catholic Charities, 506 W. Highway 66, or Sherry Holwerda at Rehoboth Christian School. Walkers then solicit financial donations from others to sponsor their participation. Donations can also be made online at the CROP Walk Web site.
A van will be available for those who can’t walk or who need a break from walking the entire distance, which Carter estimated to be between two and three miles.
Organizers also welcome people who don’t have financial sponsors but just want to lend their support by walking. Others are also welcome to help by posting flyers around town and helping organize the walk.
Carter would like to see more youth groups get involved. When students are exposed to projects like this, she said, the more their charitable awareness and intentions develop as they grow older. Organizers also have short DVDs that are available for groups to borrow to learn about CROP Walk, she added.
The Drop-in Center at Gallup’s Catholic Indian Center is another local program that might benefit from this year’s CROP Walk if enough money is raised. The program runs from October through April and provides a warm place for homeless people to have some coffee and a modest breakfast from 6:30 to 8 a.m., Monday through Friday.
According to Sister Mary Thurlough, assistant director of Catholic Charities, the center just re-opened this week. Twenty people showed up on Monday, she said, and 25 on Tuesday. Based on what she has heard about social service programs across the country, Thurlough said the demand for help has doubled in recent months.
“The cost of food and fuel are causing people to turn to food banks for the first time,” she said. Because of increased demand locally, Thurlough encouraged local residents to support both the Community Pantry and the CROP Walk.