For the crowd gathered at Living Savior Lutheran Church Sunday, Nov. 22, the only way to properly fight for a cause was to put themselves in the shoes of the people for whom they were fighting.

The crowd, representing 23 churches and faith groups from southern Fairfax county, took part in the Burke CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Hunger Walk to raise money to combat hunger at home and abroad. The 3.8-mile walk, which began at Living Savior in Fairfax Station and concluded at Fairfax Presbyterian Church, drew more than 300 participants for its 17th installment.

“We are walking for the 7 million people who die from hunger-related causes each year,” said the Rev. Randall Prior of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Burke. “What we are doing makes a difference in the lives of people around the world.”

All money raised by the participants of the walk, an annual interfaith event sponsored by faith communities nationwide, goes to groups that fight hunger. Seventy-five percent of the money goes to Church World Services, which supports sustainable grassroots development, disaster relief and refugee assistance across the world, and the remaining 25 percent of the money goes to organizations of the participants’ choosing. The Burke CROP Walk, for all 17 years, has donated their 25 percent share to ECHO, a Springfield-based, all-volunteer charitable assistance group and Western Fairfax Christian Ministries.

Last year, the walk drew 365 participants and raised $22,000 in total, and has raised more than $200,000 from 3,800 walkers since its inception. Due to the great need, however, the goal for this year’s event was increased to $25,000.

“This year is more important than any other,” said Janet Smith, event coordinator and member of Burke Presbyterian Church. “The estimates are that 1 billion people [across the world] will go to bed hungry each night and that’s an all time high. People may be donating more than ever, but the need is greater than ever."

In addition to the groups like St. Andrew’s, Burke United Methodist and Springfield’s Congregation Adat Reyim that have participated in the event every year, the event welcomed several new groups. St. Mark’s Lutheran Church of Springfield and St. Peter’s in the Woods Episcopal in Fairfax Station both took part in the walk for the first time, and Fairfax Christian and One God Ministry in Fairfax came back for their second years.

“Since it’s a new thing and it’s our first time doing it, our turnout wasn’t huge,” said Mike Crowe of St. Peter’s. “But we had a lot of our members donate and participate in events to prepare for the race. Next year, we expect to have a bigger turnout.”

While the walk was important to its participants because of its mission, it served another, equally important purpose. The event, participants said, not only brings together people from many of the county’s diverse groups, but also gives a chance for all members of the community, young and old, to give back to their community.

“We always interested in participating in interfaith activities,” said Peter Fontneau of Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church in Burke. “It’s also an activity that works for families because you can bring small children in wagons and dogs, too. It’s just a good thing to do.”

Publishers of 17 weekly newspapers in Suburban Washington:

Alexandria Gazette Packet, Arlington Connection, Ashburn Connection, Burke Connection, Cascades Connection, Centre View North, Centre View South, Great Falls Connection, Fairfax City Connection, Fairfax Station/Laurel Hill/Clifton Connection, Herndon Connection, McLean Connection, Mount Vernon Gazette, Potomac Almanac, Reston Connection, Springfield Connection, Vienna Connection