Ray Raines, the executive director of Muncie Mission Ministries, estimated that anywhere from 1,500 to 1,800 people came to the seventh-annual Walk a Mile in My Shoes charity event benefiting the Muncie Mission.
The walk was led by a group of Muncie firefighters that helped put out the fire at the Mission last summer.
"I think it went very well," Raines said. "We were quite pleased that the weather was 10 degrees warmer and the streets were safe. ... The general support from the people of Muncie for the poor and the needy and the homeless was just very encouraging, and it helps us to press on and keep doing what we're doing."
Lauren McCutchen is a freshman Alpha Phi sorority sister. She and three other women from the sorority volunteered before and during the walk as part of a community service requirement for their organization. McCutchen has been involved in volunteering with the Girl Scouts, the United Way and the Second Harvest Food Bank.
With her extensive involvement, McCutchen said she hopes all students get involved in the walk.
"Definitely do it. If not walk in it, then volunteer somehow. ... It's not hard and you get to know people, and it's for a great cause," McCutchen said.
The Mission awards two traveling Golden Sneaker trophies: one to the largest team and one to the team that donated the most money to the cause.
This year, the award for the largest team was tied between Cowan Elementary School and The Gathering church of North Walnut Street in Muncie. The winner of the most giving team has yet to be determined.
Bobby Bowman has been a resident at the Mission for 15 months and is currently working on an internship there. He has been sober for 15 months and has begun to regain respect from his family and has renewed his relationship with his ten-year-old daughter.
Bowman calls the turnout from the community is "heartwarming."
"I know a lot of people wonder when they donate if any good results come out of it and I have to tell you, they do. ... I was tired of living the way I was. [Through the Mission,] I found Christ and everything's going uphill now," Bowman said.
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