Northern New England

New CROP Hunger Walk song

Tue, 27 May 2008 12:03:03 -0500

A new CROP Hunger Walk song, We Could Walk Together, has been released by Northern New England Regional Director Bert Marshall.

Words & Music by Bert Marshall. Recorded at Muddy Angel Music in Richmond, MA. Produced and Engineered by Mark Kelso. Acoustic guitar, bass, shakers, hand drum, lead vocal: B. Marshall. Hammond B3 organ: M. Kelso. Vocal harmonies: Bert, Topaz, and Sarah. Drum kit programmed by M. Kelso & B. Marshall.

Walk coordinators, committees, organizers are welcome to use the song at their events.

Listen / Download We Could Walk Together

Fall 2008 CROP Hunger Walk T-shirts

Fri, 09 May 2008 09:06:31 -0500

The new Fall 2008 CROP Hunger Walk T-shirt is now available. See the T-shirt order form for details.

T-shirt Order form (PDF file - 324 Kb

2008 Kit Depot Locations

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:00:53 -0500

May 5-10 drop off your Kits at the following locations:

Maine
Woodfords Congregational Church – 202 Woodford St – Portland Contact: Sharon Stephenson 207 774-8243 ext 8 Collection days: May 7 – 8 – 9 Hours: 9:30 – 2:30 in Seeley Hall
Massachusetts
Plymouth Church – 87 Edgell Road – Framingham Contact: Len Dalton 508 481-5770 Church: 508 875-1364 Collection days: May 9 & 10 Hours: 10:00 to 12:00
Mittineague Congregational Church – 1840 Westfield St -West Springfield Contact: Tracy Sawicki 413 736-7174 Church: 413-734-1290 Collection date: Saturday – May 10 Hours: 9 am to 12 noon
NEW!► Tewksbury Congregational Church 10 East Street Contact: Jean Carr cell phone: 978 337-2589 Church: 978 851-9411 Collection days: Saturday – May 10 from 10 am to 2 pm Please call for an appointment to leave your Kits on other days!
Depot Change! Replaces Mattapoisett Christ Congregational Church UCC – 1350 Pleasant St, Brockton, MA Church: 508 586-3022 Collection days: May 5 – 9 Hours: 10 – 1 pm Tuesday eve – May 6 Hours: 6:30 to 8 pm
New Hampshire
Bow Mills Methodist Church – 505 South St – Bow Contact: Deborah Bonell 603 432-7698 Church: 603 224-0884 Collection days: May 8 & 9 Hours: 9:00 to 2:00
Vermont
First Baptist Church – 601 Main St – Bennington Contact: NancyJean Steffen 802 442-4795 Church: 802 442-2105 Collection date: Wednesday – May 7 Hours: 10:00 to 3:00
North Congregational Church – 1325 Main St - St Johnsbury Contact: Church Office: 802 748-2603 Collection days: May 9 Hours 8 am - 3 pm and May 10 Hours 10 am - 12 pm Willing to accept boxes by appointment, please call!
Waterbury Congregational Church – 8 North Main St – Waterbury Contact: Church Office 802 244-6606 Please call the church for hours and times and to confirm the delivery instructions

Many thanks to:

Two locations that have continued to serve as sub-depots. Over the years they have provided a great service by collecting the Kits from nearby churches and individuals and transporting the boxes of Kits to the Depot in their area during regular collection times.

Thank you to:

Second Congregational Church – Greenfield, MA
and to Joan Coughlin for making the trip for many years to the Depot in West Springfield, MA

Bristol, VT sub-depot – First Baptist Church – 10 Park St
Nancy Skidmore @ 802 453-5276 (home)
Nancy’s cell phone @ 802 377-8181 (during depot hours)
Saturday – May 3 from 9 am – 2 pm

We would like to offer our services to those near the regional office.

Please bring your Kits to:

CWS Office – 733 Chapin St #102, Ludlow, MA
Contact: Office Staff 413 583-8355 or toll free 888 297-2767
Open for Collection: Hours: 9:00 to 3:00

Please call to let us know you are coming!

We are open to receive the Kits from now on until May 9th. We will bring your Kits to the Mittineague Congregational Church in West Springfield, MA on Saturday morning, May 10th.

Thank you to Mattapoisett Congregational Church for serving as the Depot last year. Unfortunately the dates of this years Depot did not work out well for them.

Cream of the CROP Spring & Fall 2007

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:25:50 -0500

HIGHEST AMOUNT RAISED
Newton MA	$ 68,344
Concord MA	$ 55,952
Nashua NH	$ 44,330
Souhegan Valley NH	$ 37,476
Burlington/Champlain Valley VT	$ 35,912
Franklin County MA	$ 33,912
Attleboro Area MA	$ 30,156
Addison County VT	$ 23,555
Concord NH	$ 22,058
Greater Springfield MA	$ 20,799
HIGHEST DOLLAR INCREASE
Concord NH	$ 9,750
Souhegan Valley NH	$ 6,877
Exeter Area Interfaith NH	$ 6,685
Concord MA	$ 5,790
Addison County VT	$ 5,295
Cheshire County (Keene) NH	$ 4,364
Shrewsbury MA	$ 3,757
Dalton MA	$ 3,400
Hilltowns MA	$ 2,875
Lebanon NH	$ 2,505
HIGHEST PERCENTAGE INCREASE
Cheshire County (Keene) NH	125 %
Leicester MA	92 %
Pittsfield MA	85 %
Westfield MA	83 %
Concord NH	79 %
Weston MA	76 %
Exeter Area Interfaith NH	65 %
Marlboro/Hudson MA	55 %
Newport (Sullivan County East) NH	44 %
Moultonboro NH	43 %
HIGHEST ONLINE CONTRIBUTIONS
Concord MA	$ 11,160
Nashua NH	$ 3,950
Dalton MA	$ 3,155
Attleboro Area MA	$ 3,060
Exeter Area Interfaith NH	$ 2,520
Addison County VT	$ 2,470
Shrewsbury MA	$ 1,820
North Shore MA	$ 1,615
Burlington VT	$ 1,515
Boston University MA	$ 1,461

Regional Director's Update

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:36:54 -0500

Having just recently returned from a CWS staff trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, I am still trying to process an incredible wealth of new information, experiences, impressions, and stories. Associate Director Amy Porter and I were both part of this trip, and we were both profoundly impressed by the work of our local partners in both countries. Amy wrote up 37 pages of her notes and I’m still working through my 720 photographs, and we have yet to get through everyone else’s notes and photographs (there were nine of us including our trip leader, Don Tatlock, who is a CWS Regional Coordinator in Central America and the Caribbean)! I believe the processing will take months, but the experience will live with us for a lifetime.

I know that you would all be inspired to see, as we did, the ways in which Church World Service works with our local partners. This, as you know, is the heart and soul of what we do everywhere: working with local partners to empower people, equip communities, create sustainable development, and foster long-term relationships in which the dignity and self-worth of each person is cultivated and maintained through training, equal exchanges of ideas, and mutual respect. I’ve come back filled with inspiration at hearing the stories and testimonials of countless Haitians and Dominicans, about how their lives have been changed for the better through this work, how they are now able to make a living, send their children to school, learn to read, run a business, plant and harvest new crops, and face a promising future with hope and confidence. People couldn’t wait to tell us their stories! One man in Northwest Haiti, himself a leader in a thriving local cooperative (which was started with help from CWS and our local partner Christian Center for Integrated Development [SKDE]), stood up to tell his story and concluded with this: “We were a people walking in darkness, and now we are living in light.”

Our CROP Hunger Walks help to fund this kind of work. I’ve been a fan of Church World Service for years, but I came home from Haiti and the Dominican Republic even more convinced than ever that we do global disaster relief and sustainable development work better than anyone! You can all be proud that your work on behalf of CROP and CWS is bearing the best possible fruit in every part of the world where we are present. We’re all in it together, and together we really are making a difference!

Amy and I would be happy to come to your church to talk about our experiences in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Give us a call and we’ll set a date!

Peace & Blessings to each of you, and thank you for your continuing faithfulness on behalf of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Rev. Bert Marshall
Regional Director

2007 CROP Hunger Walk season sets new record!

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:10:55 -0500

Thanks to you, Northern New England CROP Hunger Walkers raised more in 2007 than ever before to fight hunger and poverty around the world. Approximately $830,000 was raised from 81 Walks held in the Spring, Summer and Fall of 2007, a 4% increase over 2006, and a new record for our Region. Of that amount, approximately $207,500 will go to the local food pantries, soup kitchens, and other hunger-fighting programs you selected in your communities. Thank you for making a difference, here at home and around the world!

SPRING	2007	2006
MAINE
Hancock County (Ellsworth)	7,814	9,281
New Gloucester	1,964	2,929
MASSACHUSETTS
Lee	4,061	NEW!
Southwick/Granville	15,503	13,885
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Greater Hampstead	20,366	23,506
Newfound Area Churches	4,718	4,372
Souhegan Valley	37,476	30,598
Warner	4,468	3,837
VERMONT
Brattleboro	8,047	6,811
West Washington County	2,738	3,402
FALL	2007	2006
MAINE
Bath	9,000	9,495
Bethel	2,710	2,250
Bowdoinham	1,542	1,273
Harrison Area	3,684	3,316
Newcastle	2,488	2,980
Thomaston	4,098	NEW!
York	6,901	5,867
MASSACHUSETTS
Agawam/West Springfield	11,473	12,463
Attleboro Area	30,156	28,664
Auburn	8,366	6,600
Belchertown	3,691	5,439
Blackstone Valley	9,881	10,768
Boston University	1,911	NEW!
Concord	55,952	50,162
Dalton	20,454	17,054
Franklin County	33,912	35,779
Granby/South Hadley	5,251	6,706
Hilltowns	17,240	14,365
Holden	11,540	12,262
Leicester	3,178	1,652
Ludlow	5,280	7,015
Marlboro/Hudson	450	291
Martha’s Vineyard	18,830	20,295
Millbury/Sutton	2,975	4,245
Monson	1,366	REVIVED!
Newton	68,344	74,293
Northern Berkshire County	6,471	NEW!
North Shore	3,895	NEW!
Oxford	4,067	5,762
Paxton	2,280	1,860
Pittsfield	1,599	865
Plymouth	10,414	8,884
Rutland	19,011	25,734
Shrewsbury	12,677	9,170
Greater Springfield	20,799	21,611
Ware	5,528	8,750
West Boylston	2,710	2,462
Westborough	5,217	6,253
Westfield	4,365	2,610
Weston	3,563	2,440
Wilbraham/Hampden	2,315	4,185
Worcester	9,252	9,861
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord	22,058	12,307
Dunbarton Cong. Ch.	1,480	1,353
Exeter Area Interfaith	17,047	10,363
Goffstown	1,036	1,220
Greenland	1,267	1,727
Kearsage Area	9,257	8,885
(Keene) Cheshire County	7,871	3,507
Lebanon	19,127	16,622
Lee	700	NEW!
Lyme	1,520	1,468
Monadnock Council	13,849	14,221
Moultonboro	1,704	1,190
Nashua	44,350	45,367
Newport	5,779	4,012
Plymouth	506	1,045
Gr. Rochester Interfaith	4,178	3,953
Sandwich Area	7,194	5,697
St. James UMC (Merrimack)	500	500
Wakefield	3,170	2,925
White Mountains Hike	3,561	3,451
VERMONT
Addison County	23,555	18,260
Bennington	4,525	3,657
Bradford	212	REVIVED!
Burlington	35,912	33,647
Charlotte	4,755	NEW!
Fair Haven	14,112	15,682
Lake Fairlee	2,755	2,579
Manchester	6,628	9,284
Northfield	6,005	5,001
Rutland	5,835	4,419

Spring 2008 CROP Hunger Walks

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:54:14 -0500

Maine | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | Vermont

Name	Date	Staff Contact
MAINE
Hancock County	May 4	Amy Porter
New Gloucester	May 4	Amy Porter
MASSACHUSETTS
Ecumenical Fellowship-Southbridge	April 27	Bert Marshall
Lee	May 4	Amy Porter
South Shore	April 27	Bert Marshall
Southwick/Granville	June 1	Amy Porter
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Greater Hampstead	May 18	Bert Marshall
Newfound Area	May 4	Amy Porter
Souhegan Valley	May 4	Bert Marshall
Warner	May 18	Amy Porter
VERMONT
Brattleboro	April 4	Bert Marshall
W. Washington County	June 8	Bert Marshall

CROP Hunger Walk leaders & volunteers workshop

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:26:16 -0500

Come to our CROP Hunger Walk Leaders & Volunteers Workshop, Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. at the Trinitarian Congregational Church, 54 Walden St., Concord, MA.

See the Workshop Brochure for more information. (PDF file 239 Kb)

2008 New Windsor, Maryland Bus Trip

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:03:16 -0500

Have you ever wondered, after lovingly assembling a CWS Kit, where it goes to be processed and sent on its journey somewhere around the world?

Would you like to be a part of this process? Would you like to visit the warehouse and actually ready the Kits for shipment? Would you like to learn more about CWS programs?

Our trip to the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor will be May 12 thru 15, 2008.. Fill out the form to register we would love to have you join us!

Visit CWS on our online networks

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:28:37 -0500

Church World Service has a MySpace page: http://myspace.com/cwscrop. We encourage you to explore the page and point others there, and if you already have a MySpace profile of your own, become a "friend" and spread the word.

CWS has created a "group" at www.Facebook.com. If you are a Facebook member, we hope you'll search for our group (Church World Service) and join it--and invite your friends!

We've also consolidated our YouTube presence at http://youtube.com/churchworldservice and created a "playlist" for CROP Hunger Walk videos that have been created by folks across the U.S. Take a look and become a subscriber.

Lastly, people can now download a variety of CWS banners and buttons for their own website, blog, or profile at http://www.churchworldservice.org/buttons.

Thanks for passing the word!