2009 Midlands CROP Walk date

The 2009 Walk will be held Nov. 15 at the State House.

Harvest Hope Food Bank is now more involved in managing the walk, and we will be redirecting this Web site to HHFB in the near future.

In the meantime, visit HHFB for more details.

You can also organize your team or make a donation online.

30 years and counting-and walking

Well, the 30th annual Midlands CROP Walk Against Hunger is right around the corner. The corner of Gervais & Main streets–at the State House–that is.

The date is Sunday, Nov. 16. Pre-race registration and activities begin at 1:30 p.m. The walk starts at 2:30.

The 3.1-mile walk supports hunger-fighting efforts locally and globally. Local agencies Harvest Hope Food Bank and Lexington Interfaith Community Services benefit from a quarter of the funds raised. Church World Service receives the balance for its anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs and for emergency relief efforts, in the United States and abroad.

The forecast Sunday is for a sunny, brisk day. Join us at the State House–and across the scenic USC Horseshoe and the streets of downtown–as we walk to make a difference in the lives of those who need our help.

Kickoff Breakfast!

The Midlands CROP Walk Against Hunger officially gets into high gear Wednesday, Sept. 10, with our annual Kickoff Breakfast. It runs 7:30-8:30 a.m. at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1301 Richland Street.

Recruiters and others who are forming teams are welcome to drop by and pick up information packets and other materials for the walk on Nov. 16. at the State House. A light breakfast will be available, and walk leaders will be on hand to answer questions and give a brief overview.

For those unable to attend, there will be two additional opportunities to pick up packets, and eat a light, lunch:

• Noon-1 p.m. Sept. 24 at Lexington Interfaith Community Services, 212 North Church Street, Lexington
• Noon-1 p.m. Oct. 8 at Harvest Hope Food Bank, 2220 Shop Road

Walker packet pickup locations

Packets can be picked up through mid-November at the following locations:

• Bethel Lutheran Church, 2081 Dutch Fork Road, White Rock, 781-2134; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday (map)
• Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1301 Richland St., Columbia, 765-9430; 8:30 a.m-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday (map)
• Harvest Hope Food Bank, 2220 Shop Road, Columbia, 254-4432; 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday (map)
• Lexington Interfaith Community Services (LICS), 212 North Church Street, Lexington, 957-6656, Ext. 225; 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday, call ahead first (map)
• Lutheran Synod office, 1003 Richland Street, 765-0590; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday (map)
• McGregor Presbyterian Church, 6505 St. Andrews Road, Irmo, 781-2391; 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (map)
• Shandon Presbyterian Church, 607 Woodrow Street, Columbia, 771-4408; 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. (map)

Feed the world–and your vocabulary

If you don’t yet know about FreeRice.com, you need to check it out. A sister site to Poverty.com, it’s an addictive online game that is somewhat reminiscent of the SAT vocabulary section–without the No. 2 pencil and all the bubbles.

Up pops a word and four choices of possible definitions. A correct answer earns a donation of 20 grains of rice to the U.N. World Food Program. And so it begins, with a seemingly endless string of words, many of which seem to come right out of Webster’s unabridged. Right or wrong, you can keep playing until your brain gets tired.

The game offers various vocabulary levels so you can keep it challenging.

Online since October 2007, the site has so far sent 24,226,462,090 grains of rice to the food program.

USA Today summed it up well: “Feeling guilty about wasting time on computer solitaire? Join the growing guilt-free multitude at FreeRice.com, an online game with redeeming social value.”

2007 CROP Walk raises more than $32,500

The 29th annual Midlands CROP Walk Against Hunger raised $32,545.96 in November 2007.

A small portion of the money, $850, was raised through online donations and was not counted in the total that was sent to parent organization Church World Service, which receives 75 percent of the money that is raised. CWS’ portion was $23,771.97.

Local walk beneficiaries Harvest Hope Food Bank and Lexington Interfaith Community Services will share the other quarter, $7,923.99. The $850 total will be applied to the 2008 Midlands CROP Walk total.

Here is the breakdown of organizations and money raised:

Church or organzation	Category	Money raised
Columbia District AME Church	AME	$3,150
Turner Memorial AME	AME	$75
Zion Baptist Church	Baptist	$611
Benedict College – Alpha Kappa Alpha	College	$100
Midlands Technical College	College	$350.34
USC School of Library and Information Science	College	$495
USC School of Law	College	$558
USC College of Social Work	College	$355
Trinity Episcopal Church	Episcopal	$20
Miles Thompson	Individual	$10
Donna Sorensen	Individual	$200
Selma Price	Individual	$100
John Ebersole	Individual	$618
Bethlehem Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$549
Christ the King Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$508
Christus Victor Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$1,225
Ebenezer Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$1,547.3
Emanuel Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$140
Faith Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$191.48
Good Shepherd Lutheran Chuch	Lutheran	$2,321
Living Springs Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$280
Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$145
Pisgah Lutheran	Lutheran	$298.5
Resurrection Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$217
St. David’s Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$741
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$860
St. Michael’s Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$376
Transfiguration Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$352.31
Zion Lutheran Church	Lutheran	$1,101.44
Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church	Methodist	$669
Gilbert United Methodist Church	Methodist	$125
Grace Methodist	Methodist	$900.75
Lebanon United Methodist Church	Methodist	$500
Lexington United Methodist Church	Methodist	$1,055
Mill Creek United Methodist Church	Methodist	$190
Mt. Hebron United Methodist Church	Methodist	$1,725.5
Red Bank United Methodist Church	Methodist	$679.72
St. Luke’s United Methodist Church	Methodist	$761
St. Mark United Methodist Church	Methodist	$805
Blue Cross Blue Shield	Organization	$5
Brookland-Cayce Ruritan Club	Organization	$28
Chappell, Smith & Arden Law Firm	Organization	$450
Forest Acres Rotary Club	Organization	$515
Hope In Action – Obama Team	Organization	$102
Rotary Club of Forest Acres	Organization	$1,000
SC Bar Association	Organization	$120
SC Certified Public Man	Organization	$135
Eastminster Presbyterian Church	Presbyterian	$89
Forest Lake Presbyterian Church	Presbyterian	$205
Lake Murray Presbyterian Church	Presbyterian	$862
McGregor Presbyterian Church	Presbyterian	$353
Seven Oaks Presbyterian Church	Presbyterian	$142.36
Shandon Presbyterian Church	Presbyterian	$3,131.32
Spring Valley Presbyterian Church	Presbyterian	$326.67
BC High School Ruritan Club	Presbyterian	$10.27
Irmo High School	Presbyterian	$115
Richland NE High School	Presbyterian	$50

March 2008 updates from Church World Service

We’ll bring you monthly updates from Church World Service, the ecumenical organization that oversees CROP Walks nationwide and receives 75 percent of the money from each walk to fund anti-hunger and poverty initiatives and provide emergency relief.

CWS response to U.S. tornados continues | Donate

Community centers in Darfur, Sudan, help women

Water cistern project helps vulnerable families in the West Bank

CWS supporting vulnerable children in Latin America

Improving ethnic minority students’ health & education in Vietnam

Roma families in Serbia gain new livelihoods

Flood crisis in Mozambique; CWS and partners respond

Reminder: March 13 CROP leadership workshop

Barbara Thomas and Joe Moran of Church World Services‘ regional offices in North Carolina will join walk leaders from around South Carolina for a workshop on March 13 at Shandon Presbyterian Church, 607 Woodrow Street, in Columbia.

The workshop will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with lunch provided by CWS’ generous contributions.

Barbara encourages each walk group to bring T-shirts, a copy of a postcard, a mailing, a poster, and other promotional items so that everyone can share ideas and plans.