October Community and Family Event Will Make a Difference for Victims of Disaster in the United States and for Others Around the World



Walk, learn, connect, and make a difference. This is what individuals, families, and congregations will do in Clement Park on Sunday, October 16, in the 16th Annual Foothills CROP Walk.

"Events this year remind us of how important our grassroots efforts are," said Peter Boddie, coordinator of the Foothills CROP Walk. "We started the year with the effects of a tsunamai in Southeast Asia and are beginning the Fall with the effects of Hurricane Katrina in the United States. At the same time, other problems in Colorado and around the world do not stop. We just have to work harder, that's all."

Each year, some 2,000 communities across the United States sponsor CROP Walks, which are ecumenical, interfaith, multicultural events.

Individuals ask neighbors, friends, and family to sponsor them as they walk a 5K course. Sponsors pledge money to the walkers.

Twenty-five percent of the money stays in the local community and goes to work through Jeffco Action Center, Interfaith Community Services, Interfaith Hospitality Network, and Denver Urban Ministries. The rest of the money goes to work through Church World Service, a nongovernmental organization that reported its administrative overhead to be about 18 percent in 2004.

Founded in 1946, Church World Service is the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 36 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations in the United States. Working in partnership with indigenous organizations in more than 80 countries, CWS works worldwide to meet human needs and foster self-reliance for all whose way is hard.

Within the United States, Church World Service assists communities in responding to disasters, resettles refugees, promotes fair national and international policies, provides educational resources, and offers opportunities to join a people-to-people network of local and global caring.





October Community and Family Event Will Make a Difference for Victims of Disaster in the United States and for Others Around the World