Spectacular weather, beautiful scenery on the C&O Canal Towpath and at Shepherd’s Spring, great food, and lots of dedicated hikers made Saturday’s annual HARC Hike for Hunger & Hope the most successful in its history!
Many thanks to all who came out to enjoy the perfect weather while supporting a great cause: HARC programs, including Micah’s Backpack and the Refugee Welcome Network. Many thanks to our sponsors and our amazing volunteers, who make this event a success every year. And BIG thanks to God’s Grace Fund for the very generous 2-1 match on our fundraising this year, as well as everyone who did fundraising to make the match count – BIG TIME! This year’s HARC Hike, which included Saturday’s main hike, 11 Virtual hikers, and a 20-mile Challenge Hike on May 18, raised $76,000 (with funds still coming in).
Check out pictures from Saturday’s event on Facebook or in the HARC Dropbox folder.
Special thanks to our top fundraising teams and individuals:
- Ed Poling – $5,465 – our overall top fundraiser and an all time record! This becomes $15,995 with the mat
Ed Poling wraps him self in his new super soft HARC Hike t-shirt quilt ch from God’s Grace Fund! Ed was honored for his years of service starting and leading the HARC Hike with a custom made HARC Hike t-shirt quilt, thanks to the handiwork of Bradley Brenk.
- Becky Fritts – $2,475 raised! ($7,025 with the match!) Becky is our top fundraiser for the Challenge Hike
- Elizabeth Paul – $924.27 raised! ($2,372.81 with the match!) Elizabeth is our top fundraiser for the main Hike
- Otterbein UMC – Micah’s BP – Challenge Hike top fundraising team with $2,563.32 ($7,259.96 with the match!)
- Team Ducey – Main Hike top fundraising team with $1,250 ($3,350 with the match!)
Special thanks also go out to Antietam Radio Association (ARA), which provides many volunteers and important communications for this event. With spotty cell service at Shepherd’s Spring and on the towpath, their radio communications are essential for a smooth event. Their in-kind service is worth more than $5,000 each year, but is truly priceless to the HARC Hike team. Thank you!
Thank you to ALL of our great sponsors, but special thanks to the God’s Grace Fund (matching benefactor + lunch sponsor), First Christian Church and JLG (Titanium sponsors), and Meritus Health and Columbia Gas of Maryland/NiSource (Platinum sponsors). You can see all of our great sponsors listed here: https://harccoalition.org/hike/. Please thank them if you see them.
Thank you to the following churches and organizations who provided vans/transportation for our hike participants: Christ’s Reformed Church, Girls Inc., Hagerstown Church of the Nazarene, and St. John’s Episcopal Church. And to the following for providing hospitality to our hikers: Hebron Mennonite Church, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Zion Reformed United Church of Christ, and Mike Johnston.
Finally, great thanks goes out to the indispensable and incredibly dedicated HARC Hike Planning Team: Founder Ed Poling, Board Member Kelly Conrad, Ed Maloy, Beth Johnston, Deacon Sue Wert, Butch Eigenbrode (ARA), Bill Pike, Kathleen Wood, and Joe McGuire (ARA).
