Craig Murphey was a young community organizer and anti-poverty advocate whose life was cut short in a tragic bike accident in 2007. He served in the VISTA National Service Program of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH) and, after graduating from VISTA, worked as the community organizer for Cathedral Community Cares at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. He coordinated and expanded the efforts of the West Harlem Action Network Against Poverty (WHANAP) and the Feed the Solution campaign. In both capacities, he worked to bring together neighborhood food pantries and soup kitchens for joint activities.

In the spirit of Craig’s life, the NYCCAH worked with WHANAP to begin the Craig Murphey Fellowship Fund to support a fellowship program focused on anti-hunger, community-based work. Continuing Craig’s commitment to the anti-hunger and community organizing movements, the first Craig Murphey fellow, Michael Paone, has been working throughout the West Harlem area to organize residents around anti-hunger issues and to build awareness of the 1.3 million people throughout the city who don’t have enough nutritious food.

Craig’s friends and family will gather for a fundraising party commemorating Craig’s life, and to celebrate the joy he brought to everyone who knew him. Craig was known by most for his roaring laugh, contagious smile and outrageous dancing that kept us all entertained. To kick off the night, a raffle will take place.

Local boutiques, bars, restaurants, artists and musicians have donated prizes ranging in value from $20 to $300 to the raffle. A percentage of the bar’s earnings for the night and the entire profit from the raffle tickets will be donated to NYCCAH and the Craig Murphey Fellowship Fund. Our goal is to raise several thousand dollars to provide a year’s salary for the next Craig Murphey fellow.

There will also be a hummus cook off from 6-9pm, in honor of one of Craig’s favorite foods. Local chefs will enter their best hummus recipe, which will be judged by partygoers who buy a $5 tasting card (all proceeds going to the Fellowship Fund). The winning chef receives a $50 gift certificate to Whisk (whisknyc.com), with runners-up receiving iPhone cases.