Fifteen walkers from a local church will donate their time in order to raise $1,200 to stop hunger and poverty in this community.

Members of the Grace Methodist Church in Douglas will participate in the CROP Hunger Walk Oct. 20. Registration will be held at Grace Methodist on 11th Street at 8:30 a.m. The walk is set to start at 9 a.m.

In 2006 11 walkers raised $1,000 for CROP. This year the group hopes to exceed last year's donations.

"In Douglas and in some 2,000 cities and towns nationwide, people are joining together in interfaith community CROP Hunger Walks around the theme of "We walk because they walk,'" said Pastor Carl Peterson.

Many of the CROP walkers will be wearing "We walk because they walk" T-shirts, proclaiming their solidarity with the millions of neighbors around the world who have to walk to live-as well as with the millions served by local food pantries, food banks and meal sites here in the United States.

These local ministries share in the funds raised by CROP Hunger Walks, Peterson said.

Peterson said that Central America is one part of the world where CROP Hunger Walks are making a big difference.

In Guatemala, indigenous families, especially the women, are learning how to grow more and better food for their families, using appropriate technology such as greenhouses and catchment irrigation, alongside creative solutions of their own design, Peterson said.

"They are also learning how to organize themselves, how to gain social and economic empowerment and how to market their extra harvest," he said.

CROP Hunger Walks continue to play a big role in the sage of the U.S. Gulf Coast rebuilding. More than two years after Hurricane Katrina, Church World Services is working to get hundreds of families out of FEMA trailers and into new or repaired homes.

For more information about CROP Hunger Walks or Grace Methodist Church call Pastor Carl Peterson at 520-266-530.