The Walk of Hope was this past Saturday, June 22 at National Harbor, MD. Not sure why it’s the DC walk when it actually occurs in Maryland, but honestly we’re all so close to each other I suppose it doesn’t matter if you call it DC or Maryland.
I just wanted to write up a simple, picture-filled post to bring all my thoughts together about this year’s Walk of Hope. First of all, thank you to everyone who donated to Team Hungry for Motherhood. I set the goal at $75 since it was my first year doing the walk, and I figured I could probably just about cover that amount if I couldn’t raise it all. But you blew that goal out of the water by getting us all the way up to $111! Thank you!
UPDATE: An email sent to walk participants at 3:45 PM Thursday, June 27, 2013
announced the total amount raised was $75,314.
According to this post on the Shady Grove Fertility Blog the DC 2013 Walk of Hope raised $70,000 total for infertility awareness, education and advocacy! You can see more photos of the walk on RESOLVE’s flickr account. And I want to add just a few shots of my own. As you can see above I made a collage to showcase the tens of photos I took. But there are a few more I wanted to add.
Just a couple of goodies given away at the start of the walk.
Aren’t we just adorable when we support those battling infertility?
RESOLVE very wisely had these stickers on which you could write why you were walking that day. The couple in front of us wrote “him” and “her” with arrows pointing to each other.
I thought it was beautiful.
Another great reason to walk.
Also a good idea to wear a camelback.
Along the mile long walk route, many signs were posted with facts and quotes about infertility.
This one struck me the most.
I had to make this one a little larger so you can actually see how many people participated.
You can just about see the entire length of the route in this shot.
It was a beautiful day to do something noble.
Not to brag, but the hubs and I won “Most Creative T-shirt Design” before the walk started. Big props to the hubs who designed the logo for HFM!
It’s a bit silly, but when I got home I put my new Walk of Hope t-shirt on my punching bag. Now when I’m upset, I can punch infertility in the face! Below that is the sign we were given when we won “most creative t-shirt design.” We put our “why we walk” stickers on it. We walked for US.
Like the hat?
I think participating in this walk has been a pivotal in my work on the It Will Happen Experiment. As I said in my Facebook post last Saturday, “The Walk of Hope 2013 is over and done. But I will never be done with the feeling of being connected to so many other families who all have or continue to struggle with infertility.”
There were so many strollers at the walk. Many of them double strollers! Babies, toddlers and kids were all in attendance. Some of them were the results of IUI, IVF, surrogacy or adoption. But all of them were the same in one regard- all of them were someone’s miracle.
It happened for them. It will happen for me too. #itwillhappen
Hungry For Motherhood 
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Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you. I thought it was a positive way to channel my energy.
This was my second DC Walk of Hope, and it still remains the one time when strollers and babbling babes don’t send a knife straight to my heart. It’s just such a beautiful experience to be brought together in a space where so many others know your pain, share your fears, and recognize the stories hiding behind your eyes.
Congrats on the “Most Creative” award btw! I almost walk up and said, “Hi, I’m a blogger too!” but that felt far too dorky. Clearly, much better to say, “hi!” via your comments section! 😉
Thanks much. I felt so dorky too! But you’re right about the great feeling there. I hope we run into each other at another event!
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