WE NEED NOT WALK ALONE - Walk To Remember Offers Hope, Community, Compassion

Statewide, CT—The East Of The River CT. Chapter of The Compassionate Friends invites all bereaved parents, siblings, relatives and friends to register now for a Walk from one step up to 2.5  miles for the “Walk to Remember” Saturday, July 9th, at 11:00 at Center Spring Park in Manchester, Ct.

As the world’s largest self-help bereavement organization, The Compassionate Friends is a free peer-to-peer support group offering friendship, understanding, and hope to families who have experienced the death of a child, of any age from pre-birth to full maturity, from any cause. There are more than 625 chapters in the United States. Each Year on the final day of the National The Compassionate Friends Conference, the WALK TO REMEMBER, an amazing and emotional event to see upwards of 2,000 bereaved family members and friends gathered together, is held. Dozens of chapters across the country will join in concurrent walks throughout the month of July.

This year Connecticut will hold The First Ever Statewide WALK TO REMEMBER, hosted by the East Of The River CT. Chapter located in Manchester. “We aren’t walking the state,” clarifies chapter leader Bettie-Jeanne Rivard-Darby, whose own daughter, RobynApril, was killed in a tragic accident 2.5 years ago and is the reason she founded the East Of the River Chapter last fall. “We are asking everyone in the state who has lost a child, a sibling, a grandchild, or that close type of relationship, to walk with us. It isn’t just our local chapter participating but all of the chapters in Connecticut, coming together in support and healing.”   

 All Connecticut TCF Chapters and their families and friends are encouraged to attend for a day of remembrance, community and caring. The walk will be held at Center Spring Park, Manchester, Saturday, July 9 at 11:00, rain or shine. Following the walk, there will be a community cook-out, pot luck picnic, brief remembrance ceremony, and entertainment.  The afternoon will end with a butterfly release. Pre-registration online is encouraged at TCFEastOfTheRiverCt.org/walktorememberhome/

“You don’t need to be a member of The Compassionate Friends to join with us and you don’t need to walk the full  2.5  miles”, says Rivard-Darby. “I am expecting women who were in Robyn’s Girl Scout Troop two decades ago to walk in her honor. We welcome everyone who wants to join hands and hearts in remembering all who have died too soon. Our chapter has very strong parent and sibling support and we want to increase awareness that we are here, reaching out to grieving families. We care, we understand and we support families through the worse pain of their lives.” Adds walk chairperson and bereaved step-sibling Gayle Darby Clark, “This is a very important walk. We are expecting leaders and families from the 8 other The Compassionate Friends Connecticut chapters to come together for the first time. It is going to be a very moving event.”

Anyone interested in walking will find information on the chapter’s website TCFEastOfTheRiverCT.org or can phone the Walk Chairperson at 860-454-4809. There is no cost to walk, but participants are urged to seek pledges that will go to the local chapter to support outreach and chapter activities and to make donations to the chapter team HOLDING HANDS HUGGING HEARTS at secure funding raising website TCFWalkToRemember.org. Walkers will receive a “walk bib” to record the names of those being remembered, as well as  have the opportunity to pre-order special Compassionate Friends walk T-shirts, which can include their loved ones photo if they wish. "Memory Boards" will be avaialbe to post  photos of loved ones during the event. They may not be here in body any longer, but they will not be forgotten!

The TCF East Of The River CT Chapter meets the 3rd Thursday of every month at 6:30 at the Hilton Inn & Suites on Pleasant Valley Rd in Manchester. For more information, call Chapter leader Bettie-Jeanne at 860-870-7581 or visit the web site at TCFEastOfTheRiverCT.org. Information about the national organization and other chapter locations, call toll-free 877-969-0010 or visit TCF’s national web site at CompassionateFriends.org.  The Compassionate Friends has a presence in at least 30 countries worldwide.