Everyone rolled up their sleeves (virtually) and worked to make 2020 Hunger Walkathon West an amazing success. Although the majority of the funds ultimately raised were received by the end of May, donations were kept open until the end of September to allow for matching grants and other late donations to straggle in. By late August the walk had raised $95,000 and the round number of $100,000 was tantalizingly close. Ascension Team super fund-raiser and Walk planning team member, Doug Wyman, has always said that $100,000 should be our goal. With it so close, Joanne Despotes, Walk Coordinator
sent out a plea to the walk recruiters to see if there was any way to get $5,000 more into the pot. Euclid Avenue Methodist Church and First United Church of Oak Park stepped up and – voila – HWW 2020 goes into the record books as a phenomenal fundraising success.
Of the $100,000 raised $25,000 is being distributed locally to 10 hunger fighting agencies: Beyond Hunger in Oak Park, Forest Park Food Pantry, First Baptist and Proviso Food Pantries in Melrose Park, Housing Forward, Quinn Center of St Eulalia Hunger Ministries and Vison of Restoration Food Pantry in Maywood and Cluster Tutoring and Pine Ave. and St. Martin de Porres Food Pantries in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. $75,000 helps our neighbors nationally and internationally through the relief and development programs of CWS-Global.
The 2021 Walk is scheduled for Sunday, May 2, 2021. It is not too early to put Hunger Walkathon West 2021 on your Giving List. Donations are being accepted even now. Hopefully we will all walk together again as we did in 2019, as shown below, but for now we are so grateful for the support we have received.
