2012 Walk Stars
Meet some of the thousands of supporters of this year's Walk+Run Against Hunger.
They’re students, professionals, family members, churchgoers and more—all dedicated to fighting hunger in our community.
| Mari Neris, Sunday Suppers |
| Occupation: Program Liaison | |
| Lives in: Kensington, Northeast Philadelphia | |
"Sunday Suppers is not a feeding program. It’s more of a long-term program aimed at changing behaviors. For some of these kids, this is the one time they can sit together as a family, when they can leave all their problems at the door and just focus on being a family." |
| Mary Swenson Bryant |  |
| Occupation: Product Marketing Manager, PEI Genesis | |
| Lives in: Northeast Philadelphia | |
| "This is my fourth Walk, and I walk for Philabundance. I do a fundraiser at work and ask each walker to collect money for Philabundance. My company then matches what we collect. I also volunteer at Philabundance at least once a month at the Galloway location in South Philly." Read more |
| Katie Olender, The Food Trust |
| Occupation: Youth Leadership Coordinator, Healthy Corner Store Initiative | |
| Lives in: West Philadelphia | |
"I coordinate Snackin’ Fresh, a youth leadership program of The Food Trust’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative. Snackin’ Fresh youth develop leadership skills and learn about healthy eating as they design and implement projects to motivate their peers and families to eat healthy. They even grow food in school and community gardens, and sell it to their neighborhood corner stores." Read more |
| Terrilynn Donnell, Philadelphia Brotherhood Rescue Mission |  |
| Occupation: Executive Director | |
| Lives in: Philadelphia, PA | |
| "Monthly, we feed about 2,000 people in the community. We serve breakfast, lunch and dinner 365 days a year, and we give away bags of food 25 days of every month." Read more |
| Leo Coltrane Kivell, age 16 |
| Occupation: Student, St. Joseph's Preparatory School | |
| Lives in: Center City, Philadelphia | |
Leo Coltrane Kivell participated in his first Walk in 2006, when he just 10 years old. Since then, he's raised thousands of dollars for St. Peter's Food Cupboard and has earned the National Philanthropy Day Award and the Coalition's first annual Youth Fundraising Award. Read more |
| Anthony Spangler, Pennypack Farm & Education Center |  |
| Occupation: Financial Planner and Board President, Pennypack Farm | |
| Lives in: Montgomeryville, PA | |
| "The money we raised goes to farm shares for low-income families. By fundraising this money, we’re able to fund what would normally be about $500 for a share to provide folks that are of lower income to have a share at a severely discounted price—around 20 percent." Read more |
| Barbara Capezio, Bridesburg United Methodist Church |
| Occupation: Retired nurse practitioner | |
| Lives in: Bridesburg (Northeast Philadelphia), PA | |
| "We live in a blue-collar, working-class neighborhood, and this food pantry was started by my neighbor, Florence Rodgers, because there was a need for people to have some assistance. We went from serving about 300 individuals a week two years ago to serving over 1,000 people today." Read more |
| Pat Callahan |  |
| Occupation: Senior rights manager, WoltersKluwer Health publishing company | |
| Lives in: Mayfair, Northeast Philadelphia | |
| "[Our company] started walking in 1998, a year after we started a volunteer community outreach group. One of the things we wanted to do was address hunger. Since 1998, we’ve raised close to $20,000." Read more |
| Chimere Holmes |
| Occupation: Graduate Student | |
| Lives in: West Chester, PA | |
| "Last year, I left my corporate job and put myself in graduate school to study theology in ministry. For me, the Walk is parallel to what I’m trying to preach for others. I firmly believe in attacking hunger in our own backyard." Read more |
| Harriet Sanders, Resurrection Baptist Church Soup Kitchen |  |
| Occupation: Retired state worker | |
| Lives in: Carroll Park, West Philadelphia | |
| "We serve about 500 hot meals a month. The Walk money provides shelving and paper products. It helps us pay for gas to pick up food, and it allows us to buy food for packages when we run out." Read more |