“Is it time, yet?” asked one girl.
“Can we go and change?” asked another.
“When is it our turn?” asked one boy to Joseph Thompson, a longtime teacher at Blessed Sacrament School in Madison.
As Principal Steve Castrogiovanni began blasting music outside, the students of Blessed Sacrament had to hold back their excitement, that is, until they could take part in this year’s Hunger March around the school’s grounds.
The tradition, a fundraiser that spans more than four decades, took place this year on October 3.
Beginning in the mid-morning, students moved around the block extending from Rowley Ave. to Hollister Ave., north to south, and Prospect Ave. to Allen St., east to west, which roughly measures one third of a mile.
Parents and members of the community came to cheer on the marchers into the early afternoon.
Two girls — alums — took a day away from high school to help with the Hunger March, an event they loved while attending Blessed Sacrament.
The march
The Hunger March has undergone a few small changes since its inception in the 1970s, one of them being that all of Blessed Sacrament’s students now participate.
At one point, Thompson explained, the older middle schoolers would complain, remembering “the good old days” when they were able to miss class to help raise money for the hungry by doing their part in the march.
Now, each grade participates, and this year’s march began with the youngest schoolchildren paired with older “buddies” to help them make the one-third mile trek.
After the 3K children finished their lap, their more senior classmates were eager to start theirs.
Soon, the Hunger March was going smoothly with hundreds of children making their way around the Blessed Sacrament campus.
After the march had begun, Castrogiovanni said that — more than just a tradition — the longstanding fundraiser “is to bring attention to hunger and food insecurity in the world”.
By earning sponsorships for the laps they run, he explained, the students raise funds that “go to local, state, national, and international organizations [that] help serve the hungry”.
The charities
Castrogiovanni said various charities will benefit from this year’s Hunger March, including local charities such as: The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Catholic Multicultural Center, and The Beacon and Porchlight, both of which minister to the homeless in Madison.
Another charity that annually receives support has local roots and an international impact.
The Empowering Women’s Future: AIDS Orphan Sewing Project, started in 2000 by former Blessed Sacrament School principal Sr. Stella Storch, OP, has been a recipient of Hunger March donations for many years.
Sister Stella founded the project to help provide Tanzanian girls who are AIDS orphans the skills to earn a living once they’re living independently.
Through the project, funded in part by Hunger March donations, the girls are offered community, a skill to learn, and a way to provide for themselves, which helps reduce their risk of sexual exploitation, hunger, and other challenges.
Overseeing the Hunger March since 2017 as principal, Castrogiovanni said that what continues to impress him each year has been the “generosity of this parish”.
He said it “never ceases to amaze me that we can raise, in tough times, over $10,000 [for] others who are more needy than we are”.
Castrogiovanni continued, saying, “We’re not a huge school, 200 to 300 students, but it’s one of the things we try to teach our students — that it’s not all about us, it’s about others.”
In total, at its conclusion, more than $15,000 was raised in under three hours by Blessed Sacrament’s students in this year’s Hunger March.