More than 1,000 St. Paul High School’s students, faculty, parents and alumni participated in its 39th annual March for Hunger Dec. 5.

The 26-mile walking tour started at Salazar Park in East Los Angeles after a 6 a.m. Mass and rally and ended at Santa Monica Beach. It was designed by the event’s founder, retired St. Paul teacher Dan Jiru, as a lesson in social responsibility by exposing students to the stark contrasts between the area’s poorest neighborhoods and the most affluent.  

The March for Hunger is the Santa Fe Springs school’s largest annual event, bringing together more than 90 percent of the student body and faculty, as well as dozens of adult volunteers.  

St. Paul challenged its students to raise money through donations from family and friends in support of the 26-mile. Proceeds go to the Catholic Worker Hospitality Kitchen, an organization that serves the homeless living on Skid Row in downtown L.A.

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