As the Total Experience Gospel Choir rocked the rafters in the Alki UCC sanctuary, you could hear them from a block away – we did, as we got out of the car to catch the end of their concert kicking off the fundraising West Seattle CROP Hunger Walk this afternoon. With Pastor Pat Wright leading the nationally renowned group as always, they concluded with the song excerpted in our video clip above – “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand.” Then it was time for the walkers to head out onto a 5K route, into what was at the time a sunny afternoon on Alki:

In previous years, Alki was the only Seattle site for the CROP Hunger Walk, but this year, it expanded to two, adding one at Green Lake (also held this afternoon). The money raised is split three-fourths to nationwide/world hunger, one-fourth to local food banks (as explained here).