Hope Club came to the aid of those unable to put food on the table on Sunday, Oct. 13th after participating in the annual CROP Hunger Walk – a national charitable event organized by the Church World Service to help families living in poverty.
The event set out to raise money to better fund food banks with 75% of donations going to the Church World Service itself, where it is then distributed to those in need. Participants gathered at The Monrovian Church of Downey at 1 p.m. and took off at 2 p.m., walking a four mile course from the church and back.
This opens the school year for Hope Club, where dealing with more than nine students was once unheard of. Now active in its 2nd year and nearing 60 students, the club has seen a sudden increase in active participants, and the majority attended the kickoff event – though that was expected, says Sergeant-at-Arms Ricardo Vargas.
“I expected a lot of our members to show up,” Vargas said. “When we introduced them to the event, they seemed very eager to help out.”
Though the growth of the amount of recruits has been abrupt, Hope Club benefits from it, says member Elly Enriquez.
“As many participants [we can bring in] possible, the better; in order to improve our society and community, we need to work together as a whole,” Enriquez said.
Hope Club is on the constant lookout for events like the CROP Hunger Walk that assist lesser-targeted groups. Vice President Yasmin Alvizures says, as a person of authority on board, she specifically leans more towards such events.
“My job is to seek for volunteer opportunities,” Alvizures said. “I search for events that will help this club become well respected and known and keep it moving so activities continue happening.”
They will continue to take measures in assuring they have positively impacted the lives of others through their community service hours, and albeit, taking part in events that set them aside as an wide-ranged program on campus.
