Assumption Class Joining Crop Walk

Students in Jeannie Smith’s sixth-grade class at Assumption Catholic School will dust off their walking shoes Sunday to help others less fortunate than themselves.

Class members, along with hundreds of other people, will participate in CROP Walk ‘97, a fund-raising and hunger awareness event co-sponsored by the Spokane Council of Ecumenical Ministries, Catholic Relief Services and Church World Service.

Smith’s class regularly participates in schoolwide service projects, such as Coats for Kids, but decided it wanted to do something more than that.

“This is special,” says Smith. “This is one we chose to do independently, separate from the rest of the school.”

Walkers gather pledges and participate in either a 2K or 10K walk on the Centennial Trail.

Last year’s event drew 350 people and raised $18,976, a 77-percent increase over the previous year. Twenty-five percent of the funds raised this year will be divided among the Spokane Food Bank, Mid-City Concerns’ Meals on Wheels and the Spokane Valley Meals on Wheels. The remaining money will benefit Church World Service’s overseas relief and development.

Registration for Sunday’s walk is 12:30 p.m. at the Riverfront Park Pavilion, just east of the Flour Mill. The walk begins at 1:30.

To receive sheets to sign up sponsors, call 326-5656. For more information on the walk, call at 624-5156.