24th Annual GRIP Harmony Walk to End Hunger

Help plan, sponsor, or walk with us at our annual Harmony Walk to end hunger!

Each year, hundreds of friends, families, community members, local businesses, congregations, corporate partners, media outlets and political figures gather together to raise awareness and funds to fight hunger and homelessness. This year, we will all join together for the 24th Annual GRIP Harmony Walk on Saturday, October 9, 2010, at the Civic Center Plaza in Richmond.

For one day and 3.5 miles, you’ll dramatically impact the lives of over 15,000 homeless individuals and families in Contra Costa County. By participating in the Harmony Walk, our main annual fundraising event, you'll help GRIP provide the programs and vital supportive services that help homeless individuals and families sustain faith and hope in their lives and become self-sufficient! Our goal is to raise over $200,000 this year and we’d like you to take the first step with us!

The Harmony Walk registration will begin at 8am on the day of October 9 and the walk itself will start at 9am. To register in advance, form a walk team, for sponsorship opportunities or to volunteer, please call Jenna Westendorf, Volunteer Manager at (510) 233-2141, ext. 306 or email her at jwestendorf@gripcommunity.org or for more information about GRIP, please visit their website at www.gripcommunity.org.

Local businesses and organizations: take advantage of this great advertising opportunity:  hundreds of volunteer walkers and everyone they come across during the Walk and the festival will see your name on our T-shirts! To learn about sponsorship opportunities click here. To become a T-shirt sponsor, please click here. To become a Walk sponsor, please click here.

Planning Meetings:

Harmony Walk planning meetings take place on the last Thursday of every month, 6:30-7:30 pm, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Conference Room, 11150 San Pablo Ave. in El Cerrito, CA 94530. (Go to the back of the church on Kearney Street. Come through the gate and look for the Conference Room near the church on the left.) Please mark your calendars for the upcoming Harmony Walk Committee Meetings.

About GRIP

Founded in 1966, GRIP, or the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program, is an interfaith, multi-cultural coalition with 41 member organizations/congregations -- working together to address critical issues of human dignity and social justice. GRIP celebrates the diversity of our multi-cultural community and draws upon a variety of traditions and cultures. Responding to a call to service, GRIP transforms the lives of disenfranchised, homeless, and hungry.

Through both advocacy and education, we strive to tackle the root causes of homelessness and hunger.  For over 40 years, GRIP has been providing services to the community, and for over 20 years, food, shelter and supportive services to the homeless population, primarily in West Contra Costa County, but also all over the SF Bay Area. Today, GRIP's focus is on three core initiatives: providing food, shelter and supportive services to help homeless families transition to self-sufficiency.