The 31st annual Salisbury-Rowan CROP Walk is set for Oct. 11, a Sunday, at City Park.
CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty and is sponsored by the Rowan-Salisbury Ministerial Association. Neighbors from different faiths, cultures and ages walk together to raise awareness and funds for international relief, as well as local hunger-fighting agencies.
Twenty-five percent of the funds raised will stay in Rowan County to support Rowan Helping Ministries and Meals on Wheels. The balance goes to Church World Service, which serves some 80 countries with relief ministries.
Church World Service is a cooperative ministry of 35 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations working to eradicate hunger and poverty by providing sustainable self-help and development, disaster relief and refugee assistance around the world.
When CROP began in 1947, its primary mission was to help Midwest farm families share their grain with hungry neighbors in post-World War II Europe and Asia. At that time, CROP was an acronym for the Christian Rural Overseas Program.
Each year, some 2,000 communities across the U.S. join in CROP Hunger Walks.
Last year, 12 church groups and 148 walkers participated in the local CROP Walk. This year, registration and event activities begin at 2:30 p.m. with music provided by the Salem Spirit Band and Singers from Salem Lutheran Church. The walk starts at 3 p.m. followed by refreshments and fellowship.
For more information or to register to walk, either as an individual or group, contact Paula Troxler at 704-633-3716 or First Presbyterian Church at 704-636-1321.