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Date: 4/20/2023
WILBRAHAM — The fourth annual Run for Rick’s Place will take place on Saturday, April 29 at 9 a.m. at Minnechaug Regional High School. This 5K run and 1.5-mile walk is the first spring 2023 community gathering for Rick’s Place.
So far, it has close to 70 people already registered and a number of sponsors that include Pioneer Valley Financial Group, Peoples Bank. Country Memorials, Nowak Funeral & Cremation Services and Wilbraham Police Relief Association. At this year’s event, Rick’s Place will be introducing a new feature called Memory Lane where participants can honor a loved one with a Memory Lane sign displayed on the course.
Executive Director Therese Ross said, “We’re recognizing that so many of the folks who come and participate in our event and others who support us are people who are remembering someone who has died. We were trying to put some visibility to that and give an opportunity for the people who are being remembered to have their names said.”
Rick’s Place is a free grief support program for youth ages 5-18 and their caregivers. It’s named after Rick Thorpe who grew up in Wilbraham. Thorpe worked in New York and died in Tower Two of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. His family and friends recognized that there wasn’t enough support for families who had experienced the death of someone. In 2007, they decided to open a grief support organization in Wilbraham. Rick’s Place has been providing grief support services to families and peer grief groups in schools, and providing professional development to school personnel and support agency staff on the impact of grief on students. They recently partnered with the YMCA of Greater Westfield to offer services at its center two Monday evenings a month. Rick’s Place does not provide therapy or counseling. This is a peer support model that encompasses a range of activities and interactions between youth and adults who have similar experiences, all of which leads to building a keen sense of community.
Ross told Reminder Publishing it can be helpful to families who have had a death to get together with other families who’ve experienced loss. They recognize that the shared loss experience develops a community that comes from understanding what others are going through. When they bring in the walk component along with the 5k, they can better meet the needs of families who have younger children who aren’t ready to run a 5K. It builds that important connection where families feel supported by a larger community while they are grieving.
“We just really want this to be a fun community gathering,” Ross said. “We want folks who have participated in our grief support programs to come back as alumni. We want community members to come and join us and recognize the importance of being a part of the Rick’s Place family.”
All proceeds from the run/walk will benefit Rick’s Place. To sign up, go to runsignup.com/Race/MA/Wilbraham/RunforRicksPlace. The cost is $30 for ages 18 and up, $15 for ages 17 and under. Those who are unable to participate can donate on the website at ricksplacema.org. Any donation goes to supporting Rick’s Place peer grief support groups on-site in Wilbraham and on the other side of the river in western Hampden County.