Fifteen teams of SUNY Cortland students raised nearly $10,000 during the annual CROP Hunger Walk in what national organizers say is the strongest student showing of any of the more than 2,000 CROP fundraising walks held across the nation.
A total of 318 members of the campus community registered to walk up to three miles through downtown Cortland on Oct. 24 in the 27th annual local event, which raises money for global and domestic anti-hunger programs. That means 85% of the 375 people who participated in the walk were Red Dragons.
With 15 student-organized teams, Cortland had more than any other university. The next highest number was 11.
SUNY Cortland students, who solicited pledges of support from family and friends, raised 63% of the $15,914 generated by the local event. Local organizers Jim Miller, a former SUNY Cortland history lecturer, and Jeanine Rose, a tutor in the university’s Learning Center, believe it’s the most successful Red Dragon Crop Hunger Walk effort yet.
The biggest fundraising group was the SUNY Cortland softball team, with $2,531 in donations. Second was the men’s lacrosse team, with $1,969, followed by Delta Phi Epsilon sorority with $1,448.
Twenty-five percent of the funds raised in the county are returned to support local food pantries and feeding programs including the SUNY Cortland Cupboard.
