Each year, St. Vincent DePaul conferences around the United States hold a “Friends of the Poor” walk to raise funds to carry out their mission of helping those in need in their local area. Sun City resident Kay Nelson has participated in this walk, supporting the efforts of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Hampshire.
Nelson said, “Because our parish is relatively small, we used to join with a larger parish hosting the walk, but only 10 or 12 people from our parish would travel from Hampshire to walk with us.”
In 2019, a beautiful idea took shape.
Nelson said, “We were surprised when we learned three other Christian churches planned to host their CROP Walk for Hunger in Hampshire the same September weekend.”
This event raises awareness about hunger around the world.
“I called the pastor of one of the churches to see if we might join together to host two walks in one day,” Nelson said.
The collaboration energized both planning teams.
“We decided to work together and plan together, but each walk would register their walkers and keep their finances and donations separate,” Nelson explained. The two groups were dedicated to fighting poverty in different places.
The planning team chose the motto, ‘Walking together to make a difference,’ and a company donated t-shirts with that motto. A donor provided water and snacks for walkers, donations were made for raffle prizes, and a DJ volunteered to provide music.
Nelson said, “The excitement grew each time the planning team met.”
In 2020, COVID-19 prevented a repeat of the event. However, the community did not let this setback dampen their spirits. As COVID-19 restrictions lessened in 2021, the team met over Zoom to plan the next walk. This time, the decision was made to hold it at a local park in Hampshire. Once again, the community rallied, with t-shirts, balloons, snacks, raffle prizes, and even more walkers. A total of 100 walkers of all ages participated, with the oldest walker being 82, and the youngest being just two years old.
This year’s combined Friends of the Poor/CROP Walk is scheduled for Saturday, September 28, at Seyller Park in Hampshire.
Nelson said, “You can choose which walk you support and the length of your walk, as we have one-mile, three-mile, and five-mile routes. My favorite moment is right before we start walking. We start with a prayer led by the pastors of the four churches. Then together, we sing, ‘We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,” a hymn used in all four churches. And then the firetruck leads us out of the park and through town with a brief stop at the local food pantry.”
The online address to learn more about the two walks, to register, or to donate, is walkingtogetherhampshire.weebly.com.
