On May 1st 2011, Project Bread organized its annual ‘Walk for Hunger’.  As usual, the event was a success with over 42,000 participants walking along a 20-mile walk route, weaving through Boston, Brookline, Newton, Watertown and Cambridge, beginning and ending at Boston Common.  Increasing awareness and generating funds to tackle hunger, walkers raised over $3.6 million to support 448 emergency food programs in 130 Massachusetts cities and towns.
 
From the Merrimack Valley area, the strongest contribution was made by the Chinmaya Mission Boston Walkers. Their team of over 140 walkers, ranged in age from 4 to 64 years, and raised a total of $17,592, placing it seventh highest amongst the top fundraisers this year.   In addition, a member of this team, Akshay Vaishnaw, raised $5,866 placing him in the top ten individual fundraisers.  The team represented the Chinmaya Mission Boston congregation which meets every Sunday at their Union Street, Andover facility.  Chinmaya Mission is a global, spiritual, organization which aims to teach individuals about the philosophical basis of Hinduism, and encourages them to make a positive contribution to society.  
 
The history of the Chinmaya team’s participation in Walk for Hunger goes back many years.  However, five years ago, the group consisted of six to eight friends who did the Walk.  Encouraged and inspired by their experience, the group resolved to do more.  They took their message to the Chinmaya congregation, which recognized the need to support the community more broadly.  A Seva (or community service) team was formed.  Since its 2009 inception, the Seva team has taken on an increasing number of projects and now supports two annual charity walks, including the Project Bread Walk for Hunger and Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development 5K Walk/Run, two local area soup kitchens, and an annual Earth Day event.  This year, with team captain Rathna Reddy at the helm, the Chinmaya Seva team had their strongest Walk for Hunger showing yet, and went well beyond their 2010 effort of 80 walkers and over $10,000 raised. Reddy commented, “We are very excited to bring Chinmaya families together to help people in need in our local community. We believe it is the best way to live out core Hindu values such as unity and service to the disadvantaged”.  You can learn more about Chinmaya Mission Boston at http://www.chinmaya-boston.com/, and the Seva team can be contacted via sevacmb@gmail.com.

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