St. Thomas Council Hosts Road for Hope Walkers

46 Saint Anselm College students partook in the 20 ^th Annual Road for Hope Walk. This 130-mile trek started at St. Peter and St. Paul Basilica in Lewiston on Saturday, August 18 ^th and ended at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire on Saturday, August 25 ^th.

The Road for Hope Walk is a modern-day pilgrimage that, in the words of the mission statement, "seeks to provide funds for the needy, strengthens the bonds in our communities, and rekindles the belief that every footstep makes a difference."

York County Shelter Program in Alfred was among the area charities that benefited from funds raised by the Road for Hope. Other charities that benefited include:

• Birth Line/Catholic Charities in Portland, Maine
• Community Concepts in Lewiston, Maine
• Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn, Maine
• York County Shelter Program
• St. Charles Children’s Home in Rochester, NH
• Rochester Recreational Arena and Youth services in Rochester, New Hampshire
• Henry Moore School Drug Awareness Program in Candia, New Hampshire
• Kid’s Café in Manchester, New Hampshire
• Upreach Therapeutic Riding Center in Goffstown, New Hampshire

The walkers averaged 15 miles per day on this eight-day trek and made overnight stops at the end of each day. One of the stops was at St. Ignatius Gym on Riverside Avenue in Sanford. The Knights of Columbus St. Thomas Council treated the students to a spaghetti dinner with all the fixings in the Parish Hall below the gym. The students also had access to hot showers and overnight accommodations in the gym. After breakfast, the students made their way to their next stop in Rochester, New Hampshire.