FROM 3 TO 100 WALKERS WALKING TO END HUNGER!

Colette Hishon and Cheri Strickland with "Shoey"

When I first walked in the CROP walk in the late 80's the slogan was "We walk because they walk".  The idea was that in the 3rd world many folks had to walk over 10 miles to get water and food every day.  We would seek pledges for a 10 mile walk and collect money for both hunger in the 3rd world and hunger at home.  The walk really was 10 miles!   We started at Memorial Stadium near CPCC and walked uphill through the city (that's one reason its called "UPtown"!) to Johnson C. Smith.  This was considered the half way point.  Their band would play for us and there would be water and candy stations along with the most-needed port-a-johns!  Then the route would wind through "food-desert" neighborhoods back to Memorial Stadium.  For many of us it was the first time we had encountered neighborhoods in Charlotte where hunger is an issue.  Cheri Strickland vividly remembers the last year the walk was 10 miles was 1990, for she was very pregnant with Mary Faith.  She still made it all 10 miles!

Cheri also remembers the first year Advent participated (1987) we sent just three walkers - Marilyn Burns, Martha Sanburg and her!    Pastor Little got the congregation and especially the youth group behind their efforts and our participation began to grow.  A few years ago we had over 100 walkers! For many years Advent raised the most money in our category (based on the size of the church), and for several years we out-raised all churches  - even the BIG ones!  I think this was due to Cheri and Kirby Strickland's dedication and hard work as organizers.  Cheri soon joined the city-wide CROP Walk board and during her tenure, Charlotte became the largest CROP Walk in the country!  She appeared one year with other Advent members in a commercial (PSA) for the CROP Walk with Harvey Gantt.  

CROP walkers eat lunch before going to Memorial Stadium

While serving as a city-wide organizer, Cheri remembers one year when a hurricane blew through the city the Saturday night before.  The steering committee met early Sunday morning and considered postponing the event, but decided against it when someone pointed out that the hungry must walk and search for food no matter the weather.  About an hour before the walk was to start, the rain quit, a rainbow appeared and it felt as if the city had been "washed clean".  They knew they had made the right decision.

Cheri and Kirby received the Sam Ryburn Walker award, given annually to individuals who have shown extraordinary spirit and dedication to inspire others in the fight against hunger.  A few years later Keith and Diane Wassum also won the award.  Keith says the biggest honor of receiving the award was having Cheri and Kirby nominate them for it and be part of the presentation.

Keith and Diane remain Advent's top walkers and are already listed as one of the city's top walkers this year on the CROP website.  Keith remembers that Advent raised as high as $12,000 in years past and we've averaged around $10,000 the past five years.  The Wassums raised $4875 of that amount last year and have raised almost $64,000 since they began walking when Diane was pregnant with Allie!

From this year's CROP Charlotte website
as of October 5th...

Keith sent me this memory from one of his walks:
"One of my favorite remembrances was the year we were going to be out of town and couldn't walk in the Charlotte walk.  We made arrangements to walk in the CROP Hunger Walk in Lexington, NC a week or so earlier.  Dale (his nephew), Diane and I drove up and joined the walk.  We were welcomed like we were honored guests from Charlotte!  What a hoot!  The Lexington walk was smaller but they were just as passionate!  At the time they had painted pigs displayed throughout the town and it was fun to see many of them during the walk."

In the years David and I haven't walked, we have continued to participate by contributing to those who do walk.  For many years we would give Kate and Allie Wassum  a quart of quarters  (about $400) which we would accumulate from our spare change over the year just for the CROP Walk.  Their memories of counting and rolling the quarters are vivid if not exactly  cherished!  When Allie walked in a charity walk up in Boston two years ago, I sent her a pint of small change for "old times sake".  I think it cost me almost as much to send it as there was in it (it was not all quarters)!  

Advent continues to contribute leadership to the Charlotte CROP Walk as our own Jennie Henderson has joined the steering committee.  While helping other churches organize their walks, she also is Advent's point person for CROP Walk.  She remembers that Advent was invited a few years ago to help hold the banner that leads the walk through the city.  When asked for other memories, she laughed and said it has become a joke that the only time the walkers see Eddie Efird is at the beginning of the walk, for he takes off walking faster than everyone and almost always finishes first, at least among Advent's walkers!  I guess he has earned the nickname, "Fast Eddie"!

Last year's walkers

Competition with other charity walks, Panther games and maintaining enthusiasm over time has been hard on Charlotte's CROP Walk.  It is no longer 10 miles, but 4.1 miles and last year it was moved to the 2nd Saturday (vs. Sunday) in October which most believed contributed to a decline in the number of walkers city-wide.  Instead of Memorial Stadium, walkers now begin and end in Independence Park.  Jennie knows that involving the youth is the key to our (and the city's) success at raising money for world hunger and would like to see more youth involved. While the CROP walk might be smaller, the need to help the hungry has only grown.  Wouldn't it be great if Advent could once again top 100 walkers and raise more than the mega-churches?!  It's not too late to contribute to a walker.  Contact Jennie Henderson or the church office!!

READERS:  Someone pointed out that the "comment" section wasn't working.  I think I have that fixed.  Please leave comments and start a conversation about Advent's Jubilee year!  If you have stories to contribute email me or call me.  Deb at 704 335 0984 or debdavepark@gmail.com