Walk to Remember
The Compassionate Friends Walk to Remember® is a highlight of every TCF National Conference. It was created as a symbolic way to show the love we carry for the children we mourn. Held at 8 a.m. Sunday on the final day of the national conference it starts at the host hotel of the conference. There is an air of anticipation and excitement as everyone gathers in preparation for the start of the Walk. Finally the Walk begins and, hand-in-hand everyone walks, meditating on a much different time in their lives. Since its inception in 2000, the Walk to Remember has taken on many distinctive facets. There is the main Walk to Remember where those attending the conference join with local bereaved families and others who fly in from across the country just for the Walk. As many as 1400 have participated. Some go the full distance while others only walk a short way knowing that in participating, they are remembering. Special Walk to Remember T-shirts are given to all who register, as well as walk bibs where the names of the children being remembered can be written.
In conjunction with the main walk, we encourage people across the country to send in the names of the children for whom they grieve to be carried in the Walk. These are printed on 8 1/2" X 11" sheets of paper, placed in sheet protectors and carried by volunteers. Last year, more than 15,000 names are estimated to have been carried by those participating in the Walk to Remember.
The Walk to Remember is also used as a major fundraiser to help support the work of The Compassionate Friends. Many participants seek pledges from relatives, friends, neighbors, and business acquaintances, turning in the dollars they have raised prior to the start of the event.
Remember a Child, Support TCF in the "Friends Asking Friends®"
Virtual Walk Fundraiser
TCF's Friends Asking Friends Fundraiser for 2012 to honor the memory of your
child, sibling, or grandchild and support the work of The Compassionate
Friends is now open. By building a remembrance website and participating in the seventh "Friends Asking
Friends®" virtual walk fundraiser, you can help to guarantee TCF will
always be there, even if you are unable to attend the actual Walk in Costa Mesa, CA July 22.Visit www.tcfwalktoremember.org for complete information and to build your memorial website, whether as an individual or team (including teams created by TCF Chapters). You can also join an existing team. Then, using e-mail and other
methods, you can receive pledges and donations from friends, relatives, and
businesses that you frequent. The annual Friends Asking Friends program has
raised as much as $100,000, critical in the outreach programs of The
compassionate Friends, both on a national and local basis, as all TCF
chapters are invited to participate. We ask for your help so that no one
need walk this difficult grief journey alone! (Note: participation in the Friends Asking Friends
fundraiser does not register you for the Walk to Remember).
Submit a Child's Name NOW to be Carried by Volunteers in the Walk to Remember®
Notice: You can now submit names online at TCF2012WalktoRemember. Our goal with the Walk to Remember® is to have every child remembered. During the Sunday, July 22, 2012 Walk to Remember in Costa Mesa, CA volunteers will be carrying the names of thousands of children submitted using an online form on this website, as well as through mail-in forms. There is no charge to have to have a child's name carried, although we hope you'll consider an optional donation to help support this memorable event.
Concurrent Walks to Remember 2012
Concurrent walks are held by many Compassionate Friends chapters in communities across the country. These are organized by the local chapters and can number as high as three or four hundred participants. In 2011, we received and posted on this page information on concurrent walks in a dozen communities across the country (including a statewide event in Connecticut). For 2012, we will list here, as received, information on local chapter Walks! If your TCF chapter will be holding concurrent walk in 2012, please send the information to Wayne@compassionatefriends.org. and it will be placed on this page (TCF chapters will find registration templates and a large amount of backup materials and information on the Leadership Site on the national website to help you make your Walk to Remember successful). Sorry, if a Walk to Remember is not listed on this page, we have not received information. Please stop back as we will be adding concurrent walks on almost a weekly basis.
TCF of Louisville, KY--Saturday, June 02, 2012. 8:30 a.m. at the Butterfly Garden in the Louisville Zoo. Registration fee $15 (includes T-Shirt). Registration required by May ll. We will place a registration form here when received. Write geoffsnyder@insightbb.com
for more information.
TCF of the Pee Dee Area (S. Carolina)--Saturday,
June 09, 2012. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and 2 mile walk begins at
10 a.m. No registration fee, donations are welcome. Location: Rail Trail
at Ebenezer Park, 842 S. Ebenezer Rd., Florence, SC.2012 Walk to Remember Announcement.
TCF-Front Range Chapters (Colorado)--Saturday, June 23, 2012. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. and Walk to Remember starts at 9 a.m. Registration Fee $15 (children under 12 N/C). Consent form is required to participate. Download 2012 Walk Registration-Consent Form. Balloon release planned as well as raffle and silent auction. Location: Clement Park 7306 W. Bowles Ave., Lakewood CO
TCF-Greater Omaha Chapter (Nebraska)--Saturday, July 14, 2012. On site registration at 8 a.m. One mile walk after (probably 9 a.m.). No registration fee although donations are requested, much appreciated, and will be accepted before the walk starts. You can pre-register using the Greater Omaha Walk Registration-Waiver form. Walk to Remember will be held at Zorinsky Lake Park, Shelter #5, 156th and F Streets, Omaha, NE. For additional information, write jSchlosser@Streck.com.
TCF of West Central Ohio--Saturday, July 21, 2012. Walk starts at Ottawa Metro Park, 2632 Ada Road in Lima, Ohio. Pre-registration is $15 and includes T-Shirt. Please register by July 1. Sign up at 9:30 a.m. day of the walk (no T-shirt with onsite registration) with the walk beginning at 10 a.m. There will be a balloon release, butterfly release, and picnic following the walk. Contact Lisa Long or Susan Mason at wcocotcf@gmail.com.
TCF of Clark County IL and Wabash Valley Chapter (IL)--Sunday, July 22, 2012, 2 p.m. at Deming Park, Terre Haute IN. Pre-registration with T-Shirt is $10. Can register day of the event, but no T-Shirt. Registration with signed waivers required. Picnic and balloon release follow Walk to Remember. For more information, contact tcfclarkcountyil@gmail.com.
-----------------------------------------------
(From 2011)
Newspaper article: Tolland Patch 07/10/2011 First Connecticut Statewide Walk to Remember Held Saturday in Center Springs Park (see pictures and story)
Newspaper article: Beacon.net7/20/2011 Grieving families walk to remember