By Alex Doser
During homecoming weekend, as students enjoyed beautiful weather and had fun at

the dance, around the world thousands of people die of hunger and exposure to the elements. That didn’t sit right with Mount Vernon students and faculty. Spanish Club members and cross country runners decided to get involved with the Crop Walk Oct. 10.
“Mrs. Deibner and I were talking,” said junior Zehra Khan, “and we thought we could get the cross country team and Spanish Club involved. We thought maybe we could do more than just walk in it, but also help create signs.” The signs cited facts and statistics about hunger and its effects on people every day.
Sue Deibner is both cross country coach and Spanish teacher. She and fellow Spanish teacher Erica Ledger had students build cardboard houses to try to replicate “what a refugee home would look like.” These homes were showcased in the homecoming parade and on the CROP Walk to motivate the community to raise money so that people won’t have to live in houses like that.
“Wednesday was an early out and we thought we could spend the day working on the house,” Mrs. Deibner said. “One fell apart because it was poorly constructed, but I guess many of the houses around the world are poorly constructed, too.”
The Crop Walk is an annual event put together as a joint effort between local churches. The event had its send off at 1:30 at the First Presbyterian Church. A prayer was said by Pastor Lori Winder before the participants took off.
“The Crop Walk is a great event,” said Mrs. Winder. “It brings the community together, across religious lines and across organizational lines, to remember that there are people out there who lack the basic essentials. They don’t have enough to eat, they don’t have enough to drink, so we’re here to give them a helping hand.”
After finishing the event, the walkers gathered at the United Methodist Church for a meal. Approximately sixty people partook in the walk, and a total of $3,599.73 was raised. Twenty-five percent of the contributions will go to local relief, like the Southeast Linn Community Center, and the rest will go to Church World Service to benefit people around the country and the world.
“The Spanish Department’s main goal is service,” said Deibner. “Every year we support needy children in Latin America, we work with the Immigration Clinic as translators. We saw what was needed, and we decided to get involved.”
The cross country team has participated in the walk for several years.