Beth’s Impact from Danville to Abroad

If you take a trip to Burundi or Bosnia, there’s a chance you may spot a couple of CWS CROP Hunger Walk t-shirts floating around. This is thanks to Beth Bauman, one of our CROP Walk volunteers and world travelers who has brought these t-shirts to hand out to people in need while on her trips. Beth’s kindness and generosity are visible in these shirts and in the many years she has dedicated to CWS. 

Beth has served as CROP Walk Chair at Mt. Vernon UMC in Danville, Virginia for the past 13 years. Her first experience with CWS, however, dates all the way back to the 80’s when she participated in her first CROP Walk in Knoxville, Tennesse. “In my memory, the walk was 26 miles,” Beth shared with laughter. “Now I know that that’s hard to believe, but you would get pledges per mile walked and we walked all over Knoxville uphills and downhills. For months afterward, I could hardly walk up the steps to my office.” 

Beth’s commitment to CWS’ mission is largely inspired by her daughter and son-in-law who are both humanitarian workers. Most of Beth’s trips around the world have been to visit her daughter, and she is especially passionate about the work CWS Africa does since her son-in-law and granddaughter are Burundian. Beth also shared that her daughter, who works for UNICEF, has often partnered with CWS and added, “I’m really passionate about CWS and development work around the world.” 

On her most recent trip to visit her daughter in Bosnia, Beth reached out to CWS to see if there were any t-shirts she could bring. One of the refugee shelters where her daughter works was experiencing a lice breakout and desperately needed clean clothes. Through the support of CWS staff, Beth was able to bring 60 brand-new t-shirts to the shelter. She noted that most refugees there were on their way to other countries and said with a smile, “I’m just picturing our t-shirts just trickling throughout Europe.” 

In Danville, Beth is most excited by the way CROP Walks brings people from all walks of life together. She explained that diversity is very important to her and over the past years, her planning team has been intentional about welcoming their doors to churches and communities that they may otherwise never get the chance to meet. “That has been a real joy,” Beth said. 

Whether she’s in Danville, Virginia or somewhere across the world, Beth is spreading joy and making a real impact. CWS is thankful for volunteers like Beth who share our mission and help us spread our impact every day. 

To learn more about how you can get involved in CWS’ volunteer opportunities, click here.