Hunger Hike 2014 raised over $95,000 — Setting a New Record!
On Sunday, September 21, 2014, hundreds of Hunger Hike participants helped raise over $95,000 to meet the needs of hungry families in the Lafayette-West Lafayette area and overseas. Hunger Hike supports the Lafayette Urban Ministry’s food programs, Food Finders Food Bank and St. Thomas Aquinas’ Haiti Ministry.
Last week, LUM Executive Director, Joe Micon, distributed the checks to the benefactors. On hand to accept for Food Finder Food Bank, Inc. was Katy Bunder, Executive Director; and for St. Thomas Aquinas Center, Fr. Patrick Baikauskas, Pastor and Director of Campus Ministry. Hunger Hike 2014 had over 1000 organizations, businesses and individuals involved in fundraising and making donations; over 900 hikers, walkers, and runners; and over 200 volunteers engaged before, during and after the event.
Joe Micon stated that LUM will use the money to support the St. John’s/LUM Food Pantry which provides emergency food for over 2200 individuals each and every month and recently expanded its hours to include Saturdays.
Katie Bunder stated that Food Finder Food Bank will use the money to support and expand existing programs like the Mobile Food Pantry and the Back Pack Program.
St. Thomas Aquinas will use the money to support their mission work in Haiti. Several times a year St. Thomas Aquinas provides opportunities for individuals including Purdue students to travel to Haiti and to provide needed work especially efforts to purify water for drinking and introduce more efficient farming techniques. St. Thomas had the largest group of Hikers and raised the most from donations to Hikers again this year.
Joe Micon gave special recognition to the Hunger Hike Honorary Chair, Sharon Versyp, coach of the Purdue Women’s Basketball and the team for role in promoting and for their support the day of Hunger Hike. Micon also thanked David Kucik, coach of the Purdue Crew and the teams for their support and for leading Hunger Hike each year. Micon acknowledged the behind the scenes work of the the entire LUM staff.
Hunger Hike was a great success and will have a tremendous positive impact on our community and the world. LUM announced that the tradition will continue in 2015 with the next Hunger Hike on Sunday, September 20 with the HH5K Run taking place on Saturday, September 19th.
The Lafayette Urban Ministry (LUM) is an organization of churches that serves as a social safety net for Lafayette’s needy children and families. For over 40 years, LUM has worked to give back the hope, the future, and the self-respect to low-income people in the Greater Lafayette area. We take an active role in trying to change social injustices and improve the quality of life for the poor of Indiana.
Contacts:
Joe Micon
Executive Director
Lafayette Urban Ministry
765.423.2691
jmicon@lumserve.org
Katy Bunder
Executive Director
Food Finders Food Bank, Inc.
765.471.0062
kbunder@food-finders.org
Fr. Patrick Baikauskas, OP
Pastor, Director of Campus Ministry
St. Thomas Aquinas – the Catholic Center at Purdue
765.743.4652
fatherpatrick@boilercatholics.org
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To view the Video of the Hunger Hike Check Distribution Ceremony presentation, please click below:
To view Hunger Hike 2014 PHOTOS, click HERE.
To give to Hunger Hike 2015, click HERE.
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