AURORA—St. Rita of Cascia Parish, here, participated in the 2015 St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) Walk for the Poor, Sept. 26 at Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva.

A group of parishioners joined Father Oscar Cortes, parochial administrator, during the walk.

This year, to make the walk more appealing to donors, Father Cortes and Father Timothy Mulcahey, LC, parochial administrator from Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Aurora, had a friendly challenge to see who could raise the most funds but, more importantly, to see who got the highest number of donors and walkers.

Who was the winner?

“The big winners were the poor,” Father Cortes told parishioners during Sunday Masses.

St. Rita of Cascia raised $5,781 and had 494 donors, while Our Lady of Good Counsel raised $5,041 and had 334 donors.

“This really brought out the great spirit at both parishes and an awareness of SVdP and what we do to help the poor,” said Joni Kramer, St. Rita’s SVdP coordinator.

“Hopefully more will join us next year,” she added.