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Organizers of the volunteer-driven event project set a goal of 150 walkers and hope to raise $10,000 to stop hunger and poverty in the community and around the world and help promote awareness of the issue. A portion of the funds raised by local walkers will go to the Chesaning Area Emergency Relief (CAER) Center.

The walk is not an endurance or speed race. Participants can walk at their own pace on the route organizers have set up throughout the village of Chesaning. People of all ages are encouraged to participate, and wheelchairs, strollers, and wagons are welcome.

Those who cannot take part in the walk can support the project by sponsoring a walker with a pledged donation. Pledge forms are available at many area churches, through organizers Chris Mishler and Crystal Strait, and at the registration table on the day of the walk.

The Chesaning walk will start at the Dollar General Store parking lot at the corner of Broad and Chapman Streets. Activities begin at 1 p.m., with the walk starting at 1:30 p.m. Participants should arrive early to register.

This year, Chesaning will join more than 2,000 cities and towns nationwide as one of the interfaith community CROP Hunger Walks following the theme "We walk because they walk." The motto proclaims walkers' solidarity with the millions of neighbors around the world who have to walk to live, as well as the millions served by local food pantries, food banks and meal sites in the United States. These local ministries share in the funds raised by CROP Hunger Walks.

CROP Hunger Walks continue to play a big role in the continuing saga of U.S. Gulf Coast rebuilding. More than two years after Hurricane Katrina, Church World Service is working to get hundreds of families out of FEMA trailers and into new or repaired homes.

This year CROP Hunger Walks will share nearly $4 million with food banks, pantries, community gardens, and other local efforts nationwide. This support is made possible when local CROP Hunger Walks choose our unique option of returning up to 25 percent of what their CROP Walk raises to hunger-fighting programs in their own community.

The CAER Center relies on funds from the CROP Walk and other community support to continue its mission of providing food to local residents in need. Since its doors opened in 1983, the CAER Center has helped feed thousands of people each year.

For more information about the Chesaning CROP Walk, contact Chris Mishler at (989) 845-2203 or Crystal Strait at (989) 845-7181.