Naperville’s 8th Annual A Walk to Remember will be held on Saturday, October 13 at the Riverwalk Grand Pavilion, 500 Jackson Ave.
Registration for the Walk will begin at 8:30AM., a memorial service featuring music, poetry and a reading of baby names will be held at 9:30AM. A Walk to Remember will start at 10:15AM., which is a two-mile, leisurely walk along the Riverwalk.
Monica Murphy LeMoine, author of Knocked Up, Knocked Down: Postcards of Miscarriage and Misadventure from the Brink of Parenthood, and founder of Exhale, an online literary magazine for pregnancy loss and infertility, will serve as the keynote speaker during the memorial service.
“I am thrilled and honored to be a part of this year’s Walk and greatly look forward to honoring so many lost babies and connecting with fellow baby-loss parents,” said Murphy LeMoine, who will read excerpts from her book in a Literary Circle on Fri., October 12, 7:30PM at the Edward Heart Hospital, 801 S. Washington St.
Walk proceeds benefit the Edward Foundation’s SHARE Program – a nurturing support group for those who have experienced pregnancy loss and infant death. Funds will also support counseling services, assistance with cremation and/or burial costs, bereavement training and education, and memory boxes to recognize the lost child. Proceeds will also be directed toward additions and upkeep to the Wings of Hope Angel Garden at Edward Hospital, an outdoor space that was designed to remember the deceased children.
Each year in the U.S., one of every four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, 26,000 children die as a result of stillbirth and another 19,000 children succumb to early infant death. As a result, thousands of families leave the hospital each year without their child – with empty arms, broken hearts and a love for their deceased child that will never diminish.
The registration fee, which includes a T-shirt, is $25 for adults and $15 for children, if done by Fri., September 28. Registration on the day of the Walk will cost $30 for adults and $17 for children, with T-shirts subject to availability.
To register, donate or for more information, visit www.napervillewalktoremember.org.
