Collingswood CROP Walk Feeds Hungry Locally and Nationally on Sunday

It's an action-packed week in the borough, with the Collingswood Book Festival dominating the social calendar for much of it.

But when the fair has left town, Collingswood residents are urged to save a little bit of that energy for the Collingswood CROP Walk, a 60-year-old, nationwide, multi-denominational charity event that raises money and awareness of hunger locally and abroad.

From noon to 2 p.m. October 6, walkers will complete a two-mile loop that runs from the Collingswood First Baptist Church on Frazer Avenue all the way down to the Collingswood Manor, and back up Park Avenue to the church.

One-quarter of all money raised supports the Collingswood Food Pantry, which is located in St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church on Park and Dill Avenues; the other 75 percent goes to alleviate hunger in the United States and abroad. 

During the last two years, the CROP walk brought in $2,100 locally and more than $8,000 overall, said organizer Bonnie Mason.

Those funds are donated to the Church World Service, which Mason describes as "one of the most efficient" humanitarian agencies in the world.

"They give food when there’s an immediate disaster and people have nothing," she said. "This is the kind of organization that you want to get behind because they do things.

Last year, Mason said, some 600 people registered to receive food donations from the pantry at St. Paul's, which is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday.

"Some of them are long-term unemployed, some are handicapped," Mason said, which reflects the spiritual component of her participation in the walk. 

"Through the Bible you see that God is so concerned with the poor, the widow, the orphan," she said. 

"It’s so important to us to reach out to the community and to make sure that needs are being met out there. It’s important to God and it’s important to us. 

"Not only did God make it plain that he wanted those people helped and that he wanted us mindful of them…it’s an unconditional thing that you reach out to others and you make a difference where you can," Mason said. 

Everyone is welcome to participate, she said; at least 50 people walked last year. You can even sponsor, Twitchee, an adopted dog who will be walking in the event.

During the walk, senior citizens at the Collingswood Manor who are unable to make the two-mile trip will spend an hour on the porch, rocking, from 1 to 2 p.m.

Donations of any amount are appreciated, Mason said. 

"There’s goals on the website, but it doesn’t matter, it can be small," Mason said. "Even if they only want to do five bucks or something, it’s fine."

To participate or donate, call 856-854-1540 or stop by the church office at 23 Frazer Avenue.