Evansville Area CROP Hunger Walk
c/o Rev. Michael Erwin
Christ Church UCC
3601 Washington Avenue
Evansville, IN 47714
mberwin@gmail.com
(812) 250-9399
Saturday’s
participants in the 43rd annual Evansville Area CROP Hunger Walk
will be honoring the memory and the legacy of Al Spillman.
This
year’s walk will begin and end at First Presbyterian Church at Second and
Mulberry streets in downtown Evansville. Registration begins at 9 a.m. Saturday,
Oct. 29, and the walk starts at 10 a.m. Parking will be available at ECHO
Healthcare at Third and Mulberry streets.
Walkers
are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes and take part in a “best costumes”
contest. That too is in honor of Spillman, who was known for the multi-colored
clown wig he wore during many CROP Hunger Walks.
Spillman,
who died exactly a week after last year’s CROP Walk, was the walk’s top fund
raiser. His involvement with the
CROP Hunger Walk spanned nearly four decades, raising money and bringing hunger
awareness out of the shadows and into the light.
“I have no shame,” Spillman told a reporter
for the Evansville Courier & Press before last year’s CROP Walk. “I’ll ask
anyone for money – friends, fellow parishioners, my doctor – I’ve begged for
money mercilessly.”
Although
Spillman was unable to walk last year, the 42nd annual CROP Hunger
Walk was his most successful. A total of $12,010.29 was raised for Church World
Service, the Tri-State Food Bank, and the Evansville Emergency Food Pantry
Consortium. Al more than doubled his previous record, collecting $4,639.75.
Family and friends walking in Al’s honor raised another $1,163.36.
Spillman,
who was 83 when he died on Nov. 7, 2015, was a graduate of Central High School
and the University of Evansville (then Evansville College), where he earned a
bachelor of arts degree in history. After serving in the Air Force, he
completed his master’s degree in clinical psychology at the University of
Missouri.
After
being diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2003, he made a vow that if he survived
the cancer, he would dedicate the rest of his life to hunger issues. He kept that vow for 12 years, even after his
cancer returned last year.
Spillman,
who in 2015 received Church World Service’s highest award, the Vanguard Award,
for his dedication to hunger issues, will be remembered for his many
ministries.
In
addition to his private practice as a clinical psychologist, he worked at the
Evansville Cancer Center, where he organized the “Man to Man” support group for
men dealing with prostate cancer. An active member of St. John’s East United
Church of Christ, he sang in the choir, taught Sunday School, and served both
the church and the Evansville Tri-State Association of the UCC on various
committees. He also volunteered in Deaconess Hospital’s Clinical Pastoral
Education program and served meals at United Caring Services.
“I
work now for the homeless, the hungry, and the hopeless,” said Spillman before his death last year.
The
CROP Hunger Walk benefits Church World Service, the Tri-State Food Bank, and
the Evansville Emergency Food Pantry Consortium.
