Phillips Academy raised $13,000 for the annual Walk for Hunger held on Sunday, May 7th. The 130 students and faculty who collected donations represented PA at Project Bread’s 39th Walk for Hunger. This year, a record-breaking 43,000 walkers from across the country turned out, raising a total of $3.3 million. Proceeds from the Walk will fund 400 emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, food banks, and food salvage programs throughout the Bay State. “Hunger is a pretty fundamental problem that we, for the most part, at school will have never dealt with. I imagine it is pretty tough to be inspired about anything with having a full meal all day,” said Glenn Stowell ’09. “By participating in the Walk, alongside 43,000 others, I felt like I was being proactive in a real problem, and that’s an incredible feeling,” he continued. Walkers trailed the 20-mile route, which runs through Boston, Brookline, Newton, Watertown, and Cambridge. Refreshments, including ice cream, were served along the way. Performers shared live entertainment, including music from jazz and folk bands. One particular attraction was “The World’s Largest Lemonade Stand” sponsored by Harvard University Dining Services. Ann Heindel from Andover Community Service supervised the fundraising activity at PA. She recruited 16 captains who formed groups of their own. “This was the first year in which we used the internet to register individual groups. A greater number of students who signed up this year showed up,” she said. Team Gunga received customized PA/Walk for Hunger T-shirts for being the largest group with perfect participation. Some PA students were not able to join the walk because of the upcoming AP examinations. “The Walk for Hunger was during a very busy weekend. But that just meant I had to sacrifice a few things so I could go walk,” Ziwe Fumudoh ’10 said. Kimberely Kuoch ’09 was the captain of the Whitney Cult. The group came in first with $1690. “I was surprised to find out what a big organization Project Bread is. One fundraiser obviously won’t eliminate hunger. It’s sort of a bandage solution. Still, it provides help to people in need who benefit a bunch from the walk,” she noted. Project Bread is a leading anti-hunger organization that feeds the hungry in Massachusetts. The project runs the only statewide hunger hotline and works with schools and summer programs. The first Sunday in May each year, Project Bread runs the Walk for Hunger, the country’s oldest continual pledge walk. The event provided a time for reflection and renewed hope for Simone Salvo ‘08. “The reward of being part of such an important effort bears no price tag but rests deep within us, helping us to raise awareness and look outside of the Andover bubble,” she commented. Charlie Walters ’10 was one of two male group leaders. “The event changed my perception of Massachusetts hunger in every possible way. I had no idea hunger was so big a problem, and after doing the walk I found out what a large scale Massachusetts hunger was on,” he said. Project Bread has annually released a status report on Massachusetts’ hunger situation. According to the Status Report on Hunger MA 2006, 637,000 people in Massachusetts are living in poverty. Between 2002 and 2003, 7.1 percent of all households were food insecure. The recent rise of living costs in Massachusetts has worsened the matter. Lawrence and Lowell are listed as areas where food insecurity and hunger are prevalent. Among adults reporting health problems, 65 percent were found to be food insecure. A third of families with children are at risk. Alanna Waldman ’10 was eager to spread awareness of the hunger situation. “This event has brought to my attention that not only adults are plagued by hunger, but young children as well. It is daunting to think that thousands of people, just in Massachusetts, lack the sufficient amount of food to feed their families,” she said. “In my experience, devoting yourself to others or to a cause requires a certain amount of human connection,” commented Simone Salvo ’08. She continued, “The Walk for Hunger demonstrates this balance perfectly; the goal and motivation for such an endeavor is purely for the benefit of others, yet the means to achieve such altruistic goals is in the self. In such a non sibi effort, we are deeply committed through personal associations or moral inclinations, but not by selfish gain.”
