Many people believe it is their responsibility to help those in need. From volunteering at local food banks to completing service projects in under-resourced communities, there is no shortage of ways to make a positive impact in both one's own neighborhood and abroad. According to Mary Etta Reinhart, organizer of the Solanco CROP Hunger Walk, just because you're working to serve the community, it doesn't mean you can't have fun while doing it.

The 47th annual Solanco CROP Hunger Walk will take place on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Muddy Run Park, 172 Bethesda Church Road, Holtwood. Participants will gather at the park's pavilion at 8:30 a.m., and the walk will commence shortly after at 9 a.m. Walkers will have the option of following an approximately 5-mile-long trail through the park or an alternate, shorter route that better accommodates families with young children and individuals with limited mobility. Participants will be invited to enjoy light refreshments and fellowship after the end of the walk.

"The whole idea is to raise funds for the hungry, both here in the local community and in other parts of the world," Reinhart said. "That's the real purpose, but we want to have fun while we're doing it."

For the first time this year, a bagpiper will provide live music to kick off the start of the Solanco CROP Hunger Walk. In recent years, Reinhart began incorporating children's activities such as coloring books and a station where participants may paint encouraging messages on rocks to place along the trail for walkers.

The Solanco CROP Hunger Walk is part of a nationwide initiative to raise money for Church World Service, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting food insecurity around the globe. Since the first Solanco CROP Hunger Walk was held in 1980, the annual event has raised more than $500,000; 25 percent of the proceeds benefit Solanco Neighborhood Ministries' food bank in Quarryville, and the remaining funds aid Church World Service's international humanitarian efforts.

Before the start of the walk, a representative from Church World Service typically hands out cards with the name of someone in another country who was helped with the funds raised by the event. Every year, the event also includes a talk from Teresa Dolan, executive director of Solanco Neighborhood Ministries and a member of the CROP Walk's planning committee. "The local connection is powerful," said Reinhart. "But we also like to add the personal but global touch to help people see the difference they make."

For more information, visit https://events.crophungerwalk.org/chw/event/holtwoodpa.