CROP Walk set for April 25

To the editor:

Recently, the Oberlin News-Tribune published an article indicating that approximately 39 percent of Oberlin's population relied on assistance available through the Oberlin Community Services Council during the 2009 calendar year. This statistic heightens our awareness of how stressful and difficult these times are for many in our community as increased joblessness, foreclosures, spiking medical costs, and the like take their toll.

One of the many ways that Oberlin has been responding to the needs of hungry people at home and worldwide is by participating in the annual CROP Walk. Last year, the Oberlin CROP Walk involved 11 community organizations. One hundred and eleven walkers raised $9,481, with one-quarter of these funds staying in town to support the work of the Oberlin Hot Meals and Oberlin Community Services programs. Under the auspices of Church World Service, hunger relief and development programs funded by CROP Walks around the United States benefit citizens in a number of locations worldwide, including Haiti, Central and East Africa, Guatemala, and others.

The 2010 CROP Walk will take place on Sunday, April 25. Every participating organization is asked to have a recruiter attend the recruiters training at First Church (corner of Main and Lorain streets.) on Thursday, March 11, from 7-8 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall (side entrance). Our goal this year is to have 100 walkers raise $10,000. There will also be a website where community members not affiliated with a participating organization can make contributions to the Oberlin Walk. Stay tuned for more information on this opportunity as the walk gets closer.

The cities of Lorain and Elyria are also holding their CROP Walks on April 25, so this will be a county-wide effort in many ways. On behalf of the planning committee, I invite folks in Oberlin to participate by walking, sponsoring, volunteering at a local hunger program, and educating oneself about the critical needs found at our own doorstep and around the world. For more information, feel free to contact me at 774-3031.

Rev. Mary Hammond

Planning Team Coordinator