Friends of Poor Walk set for Sept. 28

St. Vincent de Paul is bringing back an annual event to help lend a hand to community residents in need.

The annual St. Vincent de Paul Friends of the Poor Walk is set for 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, starting and finishing at Carrie Blake Community Park.

Registration opens at 12:30 p.m. the day of the walk.

The walk begins near the park’s picnic shelter and proceeds east along the Olympic Discovery Trail. Participants have the option of walking as far as Whitefeather Way or in a short loop around the park.

Funds raised by the Sequim walk go the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Sequim and will be used to help those in need who live within the Sequim School District boundaries.

Walk coordinator Mike McAleer said, “With the funds raised from the walk, we are able to help prevent homelessness. With the rental housing shortage, rents are rising and making it more difficult for people to stay in their homes.”

In addition to helping with rent, St. Vincent de Paul Society also helps with utilities, often preventing disconnects during cold weather.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an all-volunteer organization, with more than 95 percent of funds raised going to direct support of those in need. Help is given to anyone regardless of ethnicity, gender or religion, St. Vincent de Paul representatives say. In the last fiscal year, St. Vincent de Paul helped about 2,900 persons living in the Sequim School District.

For more information or to sponsor the walk, call McAleer at 360-477-0837 or Ella Sheppard at 478-394-0542.