NEW SALEM — Climate change, hunger, education systems, clean water, racial justice issues — they’re all interconnected, says Steve Damon, organizer of Franklin County’s annual CROP Hunger Walk.
“We’re trying (to fix) one of our parts,” Damon said Tuesday evening at a rally for the walkathon scheduled for Oct. 3 in New Salem. “But they’re all interconnected.”
The CROP Hunger Walk is a project of Church World Service that provides support throughout the world to communities lacking enough food. Every year, community walks like the one in Franklin County draw attention to the issue and raise money for the organization’s mission.
“The money we raise goes around the world and then comes back to Franklin County,” Damon explained. “Seventy-five percent goes around the world, and 25 percent comes back here.”
Franklin County’s CROP Hunger Walk is hosted by a different local church each year.
Standing outside the Central Congregational Church of New Salem — the host for this year’s walk — on Tuesday, Damon and a handful of volunteers handed out informational packets to sponsors of the October walk.
“This is the rally where we typically rally the troops,” he said. “Each church has recruiters. They’re coming to pick up their packets … to get a group to bring to the walk.”
The packets included a sketch of the roughly 2.75-mile walk from the Central Congregational Church in New Salem, which will start at 2 p.m. and take participants south along South Main Street before turning around.
“This is going to be a beautiful walk,” Damon said. “It’s foliage season in New Salem, going down to the Quabbin.”
Between 20 and 23 churches from across the county get involved each year, he said. Last year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Damon sent informational videos to churches who requested one, and participants were asked to walk and raise money remotely. A small group of volunteers met at the New Salem church to collect money and then do the walk together.
Money raised ends up at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Damon said.
At this point, Damon expects the walk to continue in typical fashion — though out of consideration for COVID-19, masks will be encouraged for those who attend.
Although he has a fundraising goal in mind, Damon declined to share it aloud. He said he’ll be grateful for whatever is raised.
“The national people always ask me what the goal is. I’m like, ‘To get everyone back safely,’” he said. “I have a number in mind and if we don’t reach it, we don’t reach it. If we do … woohoo.”
People can donate to Franklin County’s CROP Hunger Walk online at events.crophungerwalk.org/2021/event/newsalemma.
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne