Hike For Hunger 2009 - Rovers Supporting Sydney's Needy

On Saturday 7th November, members of Rover Crews from across Sydney North joined together with Rovers from all over NSW to take part in their annual service project, the Hike for Hunger - a statewide project instigated by Rovers to support the Wesley Mission’s Homeless Kids Outreach Program.

In the preceding weeks these Rover Crews collected donations of canned foods and other non-perishable items at local supermarkets, door to door and from Scouting families. Then on the day, the Rovers gathered at Bradfield Park, Milsons Point beneath the Harbour Bridge and hiked with the mammoth load of donated food across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and delivered it to the Wesley Mission in Pitt Street and also another facility in Glebe, for sorting and storage.

The Hike for Hunger initiative aims to promote awareness of the needs of homeless and underprivileged people in Sydney, and to act as a mechanism for collecting much-needed food for this worthwhile cause.

Rovers from Sydney's northside first initiated the Hike for Hunger in 1999 and it now forms an important part of the NSW Rovers' service program. To celebrate the Hike for Hunger’s 10th anniversary, NSW Rovers set out to collect 10,000 items. This goal was surpassed, with over 11,000 items being collected.

Aaron Smith, Service Co-ordinator for Sydney North Rover Council, said “It was great to see so many people at the event. Even more have been collecting at supermarkets and door knocking through Sydney over the last couple of months. Of the 11,000 items collected Sydney North Rovers supplied around 80%!”

Over the ten years the Hike For Hunger has taken place, more than 60,000 food items have been collected and donated... another great example of Rovers actively giving service to their community.