NIU students and community members will walk to raise money and awareness for hunger issues around the world at the 2008 CROP Hunger Walk.

First Methodist Church, 321 Oak St., will host the four-mile walk and the shorter mile walk, the Golden walk, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5 to raise funds to help alleviate hunger and poverty throughout the community and internationally.

Alex Springer, senior sociology major, is taking an active role in promoting the walk.

“It’s a unique opportunity for everyone to participate in to raise awareness for malnutrition,” Springer said. “There are many people throughout the world that don’t have the same resources and access to food that we have.”

Twenty-five percent of the funds raised will stay in the community and be received by Hope Haven, Safe Passage, local food pantries and Meals on Wheels. The other 75 percent will be sent to Church World Service which has an outreach in 80 countries, Springer said.

Martha O’Gorman, nutrition counselor at NIU and member of the planning committee for the walk, is excited and proud of NIU students’ involvement in helping the cause.

“We are having awesome participation from our NIU students for this worthwhile endeavor,” O’Gorman said. “In addition to the Global Nutrition class, the Student Dietetics Association is also active in the CROP walk. All total, I believe we will have more than 30 students who plan to be at the event on Sunday.”

Bennetta Stearnes, co-coordinator for the Northern DeKalb CROP Walk 2008, agreed that NIU is well represented this year and has been in years past.

Along with her pride in the students, O’Gorman is also interested in maintaining awareness of the work of former colleague, Dr. Sondra King, professor in the school of family, consumer and nutrition sciences, to whom the walk is traditionally dedicated.

King traveled around the world to help with childhood hunger issues. Since her untimely death, the North DeKalb County CROP Hunger Walk has been dedicated in her memory, O’Gorman said.

Participants, community members and affiliates of the walk will walk in King’s memory, as they hope to raise more than last year’s total of $31,000.

“I will be excited to see how much money [the students] raise,” O’Gorman said. “But I am also thrilled at their ability to raise awareness of hunger issues locally as well as worldwide.”

Stearnes is also optimistic about the money the walk will raise.

“I think the outcome will be similar to last year’s but we hope to exceed it,” Stearnes said. “With the economy being so bad, the needs become greater, and it affects those with the very least the most.”