More than 750 young and not-so-young people participated in the Help the Homeless walkathon last fall, a community-wide effort that raised nearly $25,000 for Micah House.

The record number of walkers represented a 50 percent increase from the previous year and earned Micah House a $15,000 "walker incentive" grant - the largest it has ever received - from the sponsoring Fannie Mae Foundation. Micah House, located in the District's Petworth neighborhood, is a transitional residence for homeless women in recovery from substance abuse.

Almost 300 temple members, religious school students and their parents, grandparents and friends participated in the Temple Micah neighborhood walk, coordinated by members Yael T. and Helene G..

In addition, more than 450 students from Micah House's partner schools - the District's Hearst and Watkins elementary schools - had their own mini-walks. The Watkins event was spearheaded by teacher and Micah member Fran E., whose enthusiasm inspired her students.

Micah House also will benefit from a $2,500 Youth Engagement Award from the Fannie Mae Foundation, a recognition of the young people who walked for Micah House or helped with the religious school's underwear drive. This award also topped the previous year's award - by 150 percent.

Besides the $17,500 in bonus grants, the walk raised $7,000 in walker registration fees and in Micah House's share of the national walk on the Mall.

That amount was lower in 2004 than in 2003, in part because there were more young walkers, who pay less than adults to register. But the total raised for Micah House - $24,500 - was 15 percent more than the previous year.