Published: October 08, 2008 09:45 am      

Willey raises $6,278 for CROP

DEWITT — A 14-year-old DeWitt resident, who has raised more than $20,000 for CROP Walk by himself over the last decade, has raised $6,278 this year.

Joshua Willey began participating in the DeWitt CROP Hunger Walk when he was 3. His grandfather carried him the first time. When Willey turned 4, he rode in a wagon. At age 5, he walked the entire route. At the age of 6, Willey started collecting his own money and since then, he has raised thousands of dollars for CROP, including $4,821 in 2005 by knocking on some 400 doors. His 2005 contributions were slightly more than 25 percent of DeWitt's CROP Hunger Walk total. In 2006, Willey contacted more than 420 people and raised $5,099 for CROP Walk, well more than his $5,000 goal.

This year, Willey’s goal was $6,000. To that end, he knocked on hundreds of doors and made more than 500 phone calls. He set a new personal record high this year.

The CROP Walk, sponsored by Church World Service, is a community ecumenical project, which responds to the needs of poor and hungry people in our own community and around the world. In the last 15 years alone, CROP Walks have raised more than $200 million to bring help and hope to people in need in more than 80 countries, including the United States. Last year $18,724 was collected locally.

While the bulk of the focus is on global hunger issues, 25 percent of the money raised by each walk stays in the community where the walk took place. One-fourth of the proceeds raised by the DeWitt event will be distributed through the DeWitt Referral Center and the Carroll Assistance Center in Wheatland, which also serves residents in Delmar, Lost Nation and Charlotte.

CROP Walk works on a pledge basis, with participants soliciting contributions from their friends and neighbors. The walk itself is usually at least a mile, if not several miles, that gives the walkers time to think about the impact of hunger while also sending a visual message to the community at large that people care about the problem and are willing to give of themselves to make a difference.

The DeWitt CROP Walk was held Oct. 5 at St. Joseph School.