THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 29, 1996 TAG: 9609270243
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 55 lines
For years, the Portsmouth Area Resources Coalition sponsored a walk for world hunger.
Now, the coalition looks a little closer to home.
``There's such a need in this local area, and we did a survey of a lot of the participants and the participants felt that a local emphasis was really important,'' said Terri Karlsson, president of the PARC board.
So now the majority of the funds raised through the Walk for HOPE (Hunger, Oppression, Poverty and Eviction) will help the coalition provide emergency assistance, food and shelter to local families.
The Walk will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 6 in the Olde Towne area.
Twenty-five percent of the money raised still will be sent to Church World Service, which sponsors the CROP (Community Rural Outreach Program) Walk.
But that's a reverse from when PARC sponsored the CROP Walk in Portsmouth, and the international organization would keep 75 percent for its global efforts and send back 25 percent for local use.
About 300 walkers, including those from about 30 churches and organizations, are expected to participate in the Walk for Hope.
Walkers will sign up pledges and participate in a five-kilometer walk that starts at Portside and takes them through Olde Towne.
``We have a goal of $50 per walker,'' said Karlsson, the walk's coordinator.
Registration will be at Portside at 1 p.m. The walkers will leave the starting point at 2 p.m. Churches will provide refreshments at Hospital Point and St. John's Episcopal Church on Washington Street.
There will be musical entertainment, and many churches and organizations typically bring their own refreshments for an informal gathering after the walk.
Participants may bring children in strollers and pets on leashes. Rollerblades are not allowed.
Karlsson describes the event as a ``nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon,'' a time when people run into old friends while meeting new ones.
Karlsson's hope is that the result of all that strolling and socializing will add up to about $15,000 toward the coalition's work.
PARC was founded 14 years ago and offers food, shelter and emergency assistance to those in need. The organization also is a clearinghouse for public and private agencies in order to avoid duplication of services and to prevent abuses.
The coalition sponsors the PARC Place Shelter for homeless families, which serves about 250 people a year. The coalition also coordinates the weekend meals served to about 8,000 people a year at Oasis.
The organization also has 12 properties it uses as transitional housing for the families it serves in a supportive living program. The goal of the program is to get those 12 families to the point they are self-sufficient. MEMO: Groups or individuals interested in signing up for the walk or
making a donation should call 393-7848. by CNB