College sophomore Joshua Willey. Photo: Courtesy Joshua Willey
DeWitt, Iowa — DeWitt, Iowa, college sophomore Joshua Willey is determined to do his part to end hunger in his lifetime, and he’s not deterred by the looming obstacles: the global food crisis, the 1 billion hungry people in the world, this summer’s unprecedented droughts or the still sluggish economy that is taking a toll on the budgets of many Americans.
Those challenges just make the 19-year-old more determined.
But, then, Willey has been raising money to fight hunger at home and abroad since he was 3 years old, sitting on his grandfather’s shoulders in their community’s CROP Hunger Walk.
By age 6, Willey was knocking on doors and collecting donations on his own for CROP Walks –the only charity walks in the U.S. that raise funds to fight both local and global hunger.
Over the years, the young humanitarian has raised more than $50,000 to help fight hunger. Willey received the Iowa Governor’s Volunteer Award for his efforts in 2008.
Sponsored by humanitarian agency Church World Service, CROP Hunger Walks are “viewed by many as the granddaddy of charity walks” in America, according to the Los Angeles Times. Part of all CROP Hunger Walk funds raised go to help local hunger relief programs and the rest go to help fund sustainable agriculture, food and nutrition security, water resources and livelihoods programs for poor people in developing countries.
Since the first CROP Hunger Walk in 1969 in Bismarck, North Dakota – 10 years before the UN designated a World Food Day – CROP Hunger Walks have drawn a loyal following of organizers, volunteers, participants and donors of all ages and stripes. Participants come from local church, interfaith, school, business and other community groups.
Now, more than 2,000 communities participate in some 1,600 CROP Hunger Walks each year, raising $15 million annually.
The Dewitt fundraiser will be one of 881 CROP Hunger Walks scheduled nationwide this fall around the Oct. 16 commemoration of World Food Day.
Right after Labor Day and in advance of DeWitt’s Oct. 7 CROP Hunger Walk, Willey, who is a sophomore at Clinton Community College studying to become an emergency medical technician, will begin collecting money and pledges from longtime supporters and new people he has met.
He still does it the old fashioned way: by knocking on hundreds of doors and making hundreds of phone calls each year.
Willey says he is “just doing what has to be done.”
At least 1 in 5 children in the U.S. are hungry. While advances have been made over the past decade, according to the World Food Program 10.9 million children under 5 in developing countries die each year, most from malnutrition and hunger-related diseases.
“It’s not right, it’s not acceptable, and it doesn’t have to be this way,” Willey said.
He said it has been difficult seeing this season’s extreme droughts and crop failures in Iowa. “We know that other parts of the world are having terrible droughts, crop failures and hunger, too, like in the Sahel region of Africa. So many children are severely malnourished and their lives are at risk. But people can help themselves and they can feed their children, with a little help from us.”
With many families in the U.S. still struggling in the slowest recovery and worst economic times since the Great Depression, Willey and other CROP Hunger Walk organizers believe Americans will keep coming through to help their neighbors at home and their poorest neighbors globally.
How does he think he’ll fare this World Food Day season? “I’ll make what I can and see what happens,” he said.
And what do Willey’s peers think of his charitable work? “They think it’s pretty cool. They know how much I’ve made over the years. At one point some of our friends who were attending another school organized a CROP Walk there. It worked out well, and they continued doing it.”
“The majority of Iowa’s CROP Hunger Walk coordinators have been organizing their communities for many years. They and members in local congregations are the heart of leadership throughout the state,” said the Rev. Russell Melby, Iowa director for CWS. “Josh Willey, at age 19, is unique among them based on his age and individual fundraising skills.
“He represents the new generation that will take the baton to assure a future where there is enough food for all.”
Scheduled each year on Oct. 16 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , this year’s World Food Day theme is “Agricultural cooperatives — key to feeding the world.” CROP Hunger Walk sponsor Church World Service supports food cooperatives and sustainable development programs in its work around the globe.
For locations and dates for fall 2012 CROP Hunger Walks throughout the U.S., for more information, or to make a donation to CROP Hunger Walks: www.cropwalk.org, or contact a Church World Service/CROP Regional Office, toll-free at 888-CWS-CROP (888-297-2767).