Walking against hunger
ZELIENOPLE — Cadence Sammon, a senior at Seneca Valley High School, picked up her senior project where former students’ senior projects left off.
Sammon was the student leader for the sixth annual Armstrong Walk for Hunger, which took place Sunday morning, Sept. 10, at Zelienople Community Park. Armstrong started the event in 2018 with the help of Julie Kopp, who was a senior at Seneca Valley at the time, and the company has continued to involve students in the walk since then.
Helping to organize the walk, and get some fellow students and community members involved made the job a good experience, Sammon said.
“My role was I would go out, I had to get a lot of sponsorships,” she said. “We also collected raffle baskets and a bunch of gift cards for businesses that didn’t want to do as big of a donation.
“It is a lot of work, but it’s good experience to push yourself and keep yourself on track.”
About 70 people registered for the walk, and about 60 of them preregistered, breaking a previous record for the walk, according to Seth Prentice, community marketing manager for Armstrong.
The Walk for Hunger is this region of Armstrong’s biggest fundraiser for its Breaking Bread initiative, Prentice said. Different branches of Armstrong raise money and food donations in different ways to supply food to service organizations, which in Butler County include the Lighthouse Foundation and Butler County Community College.
“All the systems get food to the pantries that operate in their area,” said Chip Rowan, community marketing manager for Armstrong. “So this is a big event here for that.”
Rowan said at the walk that Walk for Hunger is part of Avenge Hunger Month, when, every September, Armstrong pushes to raise money and awareness of food insecurity. He also said the company identified hunger and food insecurity as a need that could be tackled in different communities by local branches of Armstrong.
“Many of our customers struggle with food insecurity,” Rowan said. “So we just see it as a way to help customers, and just to be part of the community. We saw hunger as a good thing we can help to fight.”
The Walk for Hunger raised money through walk registrations, sponsorships, donations and the raffle baskets obtained mainly by Sammon, Prentice said. While the walk helps to raise money for Butler County agencies, Prentice said getting high school students involved in planning also helps spread awareness of the needs of the community.
“It helps get kids educated about food insecurity,” Prentice said. “It’s not something you can see on someone, so this way they get to know what it is and help out.”
Following a short opening ceremony at the amphitheater of Zelienople Community Park, the herd of people in yellow shirts took off and traversed the approximately 1-mile loop around the park and back to the pavilion.
Sammon led the pack throughout the walk, and later helped distribute raffle baskets. She said she was happy to get involved with an organization fighting food insecurity.
“This was a really good experience — it’s amazing to be able to help people in need,” Sammon said. “It’s a blessing.”
