Chinmaya Walkers Gear up to feed the hungry in Massachusetts!

There is excitement in the air at Chinmaya Mission these days.

Chinmaya Walkers are getting ready to participate in Project Bread’s annual ‘Walk for Hunger’ fundraising event on Sunday, May 4. Volunteers are busy every Sunday registering Walkers. Team T-shirts are being sold. Children and parents are getting busy in fundraising campaigns.

One mother, Sujatha Thiruvengadathan said “ We would not miss the Walk for Hunger for anything. It combines a day of family fun, a noble cause, exercise in fresh air, a sense of community like at the Marathon. Where else can you so easily have kids experience the joy of doing something truly worthwhile, as a whole family together?”

Walk for Hunger is a major event at Chinmaya Mission, whose mission is service to society. Last year, over 350 Chinmaya walkers, from 2 to 70 years, raised $29,028 (3^rd highest amongst the top ten teams). Also one leader of this team, Akshay Vaishnaw, raised $5,740 (7^th highest individual fundraiser).

Walk for Hunger is the largest annual one-day fundraiser to alleviate local hunger. Last year 30,000 participants walking along a 20-mile walk route, raised over $3.1 million to help 750,000 people, most of them children, sick and elderly. Over 200,000 kids in Massachusetts are known to be food insecure.

The Chinmaya Walkers team represents the members of Chinmaya Mission Boston located at
1 Union Street, Andover, MA and their families and friends. Chinmaya Mission is a global, spiritual, organization which aims to teach individuals about the philosophical basis of Hinduism, and encourages them to make a positive contribution to society.

The Chinmaya team started in 2007, when Rathna and Shankar Reddy felt the need to reinforce the message of Seva with a broadly participatory community service activity. Rathna, still the Team Captain, says “The team was born with just 8 friends walking together raising a couple of hundred dollars. We have grown every year, with the help of  Chinmaya families and their friends, working together to help people in need in our local community. We believe it is the best way to live out core Hindu values of unity and service to the disadvantaged”.

Chinmaya kids are inspirational! Last  year, two 6-year old kids, Shuban Bala & Pranav Chivukula, and 14 other kids less than 10 year old, walked all 20 miles! Seven kids raised more than $500 each – one of them, Amolina Bhat, raised $1,730.

To join Chinmaya Walkers team or to make a donation, please go to this team link: http://support.projectbread.org/goto/ChinmayaWalkers

The Walk for Hunger is held on the first Sunday in May every year – Rain or Shine.

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