Hundreds in Waynesboro raise thousands for hunger fight

October 06, 2008|By JENNIFER FITCH

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Bob Stambaugh spent last week soliciting businesses for donations and handing out 137 letters telling people about the CROP Hunger Walk.

He explained how money raised would go to feed the hungry locally, nationally and globally. He talked about projects to dig wells and plant gardens so people in Third World countries can find self-sufficiency.

"It's also used in emergencies like (Hurricane) Katrina," Stambaugh said.

Stambaugh, 83, participated in his 28th CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday. He joined about 100 other people walking from the Waynesboro Area YMCA to Waynesboro Area Senior High School, where they circled the track to fight hunger.

The event raised more than $10,000 in 2007, according to Janet Brockmann, who organized the event through the Waynesboro Area Fellowship of Churches.

"It's tradition. We've been doing it for 37 years," she said.

Waynesboro's event is the second-oldest among CROP Walks across the United States, Waynesboro Mayor Richard Starliper said.

"I think it's great. Participation has been phenomenal year after year," he said.

"In the 37 years, they have raised a little over $230,000," said Stambaugh, who served as a recruiter for his congregation, Faith United Methodist Church on North Potomac Street.

"People enjoy the fellowship and the cause," Starliper said.

CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Hunger Walks are held in 2,000 communities in the United States and benefit Church World Service, according to www.churchworldservice.org.

Twenty-five percent of Waynesboro's donations stay in town for the benefit of local organizations, event officials said.

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