The Colby Fund of the River Valley will host the second annual Walk to Remember on Sunday, Oct. 19, to support families who have endured the loss of a child.

There will be a 1.2 mile remembrance walk to raise money and awareness for the Colby Fund. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. with the walk starting at 10 a.m. Participants will be starting at Rumford Hospital again this year.

The Colby Fund was started by the Colby family when their baby was still born in 2003. The baby’s mother was grief stricken, but due to the lack of understanding of her needs and resources geared to help mothers, there was no one to talk to about what she was going through.

“Healing isn’t easy. It never stops,” said Jessica Hamann, of Rumford, a walk organizer who also lost a baby. “It’s soul work and heart work, it’s messy and it’s hard. The hardest thing I have done is to save myself. Nobody could do it for me. I had to dig deep. I had to find a reason beyond my family for me. And if you’re healing. I see you and I’m so proud of you, too.”

According to its website, the Colby Fund provides “support and education to grieving parents who have experienced the loss of their baby.”

Kevin Jamison, the Rumford Aubuchon Manager who donated mulch to the memorial garden last year, calls the walk a labor of love for all involved.

“I am glad we have a memory space here in Rumford,” he said, “so we can visit our babies remembrance areas here instead of going to CMMC in Lewiston. We are thankful every day.”

Though not a walkathon, if registered participants raise or donate $50 to the Colby Fund they will be given a commemorative shirt. However, raising money is not required to join family, friends and loved ones for the event.

Registration, a bake sale, and the start of the event will be at the left side of the hospital, at 420 Franklin St., near the helicopter pad and in front of the new Colby Fund of the River Valley Memorial Garden.

Hamann says she has had amazing outreach across the River Valley and expects at least 50 affected mothers and their families, which are all invited to join the walk.

“We raised almost $5000 last year and had 180 participants,” she said. “I know we will do far better this year.”

Katie Houghton, who has been involved in the walk for 6 years, said the event was originally held in Three Fields near Aubuchon Hardware and was sponsored by Kevin and Kim Jamison, who also lost a child.

Hamann has been actively fundraising for next week’s Walk to Remember for the Colby Fund. She says she does this “for our babies we love and remember who are in heaven, and for their families that have been affected by these losses.”

For a $5 donation Hamann said she will add names of everyone who donated who’d like to be remembered to a long sleeve shirt she will wear during the walk.

Another way to donate is to make a $1 donation to Jessica Hammon on Facebook Pay, PayPal or Venmo. Hamann states, “If everyone on my Facebook donated $1 we would be giving over $500 to the Colby Fund.”

She said another way to help out is to follow her on Scentsy. Shop and order yourself something or a gift if you don’t need Scentsy. “I donate Scentsy buddies to the (Dixfield Discount Fuel) Toy Drive with Katie Houghton.”

Free water and apples will be available in the registration area along with a fundraising sale table providing baked goods and memorial items such as water bottles. Also, Tammy Brule-Fournier, a nurse who has also experienced the loss of a child, of Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, will be on hand with information and resources for the Colby Fund.

“The Colby fund is key to helping with the grieving process,” Brule-Fournier said. “Not long ago after a lost baby, no one was trained to help. Today, we endeavor to support from the hospital bedside and through the grieving process with everything from multiple visits to a stillborn reference library. We can not take away the pain but we can add with love, support, and encouragement.”

To register for the walk or just to support the Colby fund checks can be mailed to Houghton at 278 Dickvale Road in Peru, or through PayPal or Venmo.

“This money will be donated in memory of the babies who went to heaven too soon and our own Kya Marie Houghton,” Houghton said.