Grateful for All Your Determination to Meet CROP Walk Goals

Our 34th Annual Red Bank CROP Walk may be over, but we are still working to adding up all the steps taken towards ENDING HUNGER. Funds are still coming in both online and by snail mail (PO BOX 8022 Red Bank, NJ 07701) through December 31st. and our food collection of a record 16,300 lbs. went out to pantries grateful for the food to help keep their shelves stocked and ready to help meet the needs of those they serve.


Beautiful expressions of art depicted hunger, poverty and positive steps that we can take to END Hunger. Photos can be seen in our Facebook Photo Albums. 

Thanks and gratitude go out to our foundation of T-Shirt Sponsors, to the host churches for our meetings and rally: Tower Hill Church, Red Bank United Methodist Church , and First Baptist Church of Red Bank and to the Red Bank Regional School district for opening its doors and grounds to us each year.

This year RBR Key Club Advisor, Dorrian Murray and her students led warm ups and continued the PHOTO OP activity which celebrated its 5th year. Did you get a photo op picture taken of your group? Thank you Key Club volunteers of RBR, RFH, and MAST for students at multiple water stops!

Special thanks go to the Garden State Radio Association and the police and fire-police from the towns of Little Silver, Fair Haven and Red Bank as they assured the safety of our walkers over the five mile route . 

We thank committee members,walkers,runners, registration volunteers, the music of John Limyanski (J & J Music), and the blessing of the walk by Rev. Virginia Jarocha-Ernst of the UUCMC. We appreciate the continuing support given to our walk by the Two River Times for our helping us to spread the news & the talent of photographer of Scott Longfield for helping us to document the excitement at the start line!

25% of all our fundraising efforts goes directly to our 16 local partner programs. 75% of funds goes to our global partners through Church World Service. Funds are used nationally and globally in 80 countries around the world. Partner programs continue long term relief work in the areas of: hunger and malnutrition, emergencies, refugees, immigration, children and water. (Financial  Accountability)

Funds donated this year are already over $100,000. Based on past trends in the timeline of donations between CROP Walk day in October and the end of December in past years; our treasurer believes that we will match or surpass last years total of funds raised. 14 consecutive years of donations over $100,000 is a testament to the deep commitment of CROP Walkers to the cause of ENDING HUNGER in the world.

A Mountain of Rice and MORE to Feed Monmouth County Residents

Our CROP Walkers did it again this year breaking another food collection record! Up from 14,000 lbs. to 16,300 lbs. of peanut butter, rice and beans.  BUT before pantries could pick it up all the food was hauled in, unloaded, sorted, counted, repackaged and put into those yellow bags all within about 4 1/2 hours. We send a big THANK YOU to our many, many dedicated volunteers. 

Rumson Country Day School under the leadership of its new headmaster, Whitney Slade, continued to claim the title of "Champions of the Food Collection" as a honored RCDS tradition. They collected and delivered 8,000 lbs. of food and brought additional volunteers to join the food collection team to help facilitate this mighty task. They did it all with smiles!

 

  

Another continuing tradition is the leadership of the Varley Family and Friends who began the first food drive two decades ago. Good family friends include Joan Foote and her husband, Don, Brother Ralph and Tim Sewnig, all connected with Christian Brothers Academy. They work alongside two dozen students and numerous friends. This list grows each year as our food collection grows. Brian Rue of Monmouth Sprinkler Co. in Red Bank has widened our circle of caring with his own children and students from St. Leo the Great in Lincroft. Welcome! We greatly appreciate the efforts of so many who help distribute that mountain of food.

After hours of labor the field of yellow has spread over the entire sidewalk waiting to picked up by 20 food pantries coming from 11 different towns.   Monmouth County residents will enjoy this bounty of food.

Food Collection totals:
Beans 2,755 lbs.
Rice  11,590 lbs.
Peanut Butter 975 lbs.
Soup 410 lbs.
Other 570 lbs.
Grand Total  16,300 lbs.

Many Steps and Hard Work for a Worthy Cause Lead to Great Results !

Our Goals each year are set by committee members with input from recruiters from over 60 local groups coming from different faiths, private and public schools and community organizations. Each year we are thrilled to see that walkers themselves step it up to meet and exceed our goals with enthusiasm and passion for the cause of caring for our needy neighbors!

We thank all our coordinating committee members, teen leaders, and individual group recruiters for the months of preparation put into planning for the continued success of our Red Bank CROP Hunger Walk. It takes many hands to go along with our Hearts & Soles as we work with three communities, a regional school system, and many, many volunteers. We work together to support our partners who are on the front line everyday working to END HUNGER locally and globally. 

Together we change the world and make a difference in people's lives. Thank you all for being part of our CROP Walk Family.