After a two-year absence because of the pandemic, Kacie's Cause will hold its Mother's Day Walk through Parkesburg on Sunday, May 8, beginning at 9 a.m. The eighth annual walk will begin and end at The Parkesburg POINT, 700 Main St., Parkesburg. All participants will receive a complimentary lunch, and there is no cost to register.

Kacie's Cause is named for Kacie Rumford, the daughter of Andrew and Donna Rumford, who died from a drug overdose in 2013 at the age of 23. The family started the nonprofit organization to educate the community about substance use disorders and to promote programs in the community that help individuals who have addictive behaviors, as well as their families.

According to Betsy Gillen, team leader of Kacie's Cause Parkesburg Chapter, the peaceful walk through Parkesburg is designed to provide support and comfort to families affected by substance abuse. "This is a healing event," she said. "Many of our walkers are family, friends and mothers of children with substance use disorders or families who have lost children."

The event will begin with registration at 9 a.m. at The POINT, where there will also be vendors set up in the gym representing various organizations, including Chester County Drug & Alcohol Services, Gateway Church and the COAD Group. The Chester County Sheriff's Office will provide a medication disposal dropbox for unused and expired prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Attendees will also be provided with blank signs to carry along with them during the walk, on which they can write down the name of a loved one they want to honor or remember.

"There will be a very short program, (including comments) by a Parkesburg resident who is in recovery. We choose a family who has lost a child (to lead) the walkers," Gillen said, noting that in past years, Andrew Rumford has participated in the walk.

She noted that the walk is about 2 miles long, but a shorter walk will be available. Guides will be on hand to point out the shortcut.

Collection bins will be available for those who would like to donate to Kacie's Cause. Proceeds from this year's event will be used to support the charity's ongoing programs in the Octorara Area School District (OASD). Each year, Kacie's Cause awards a $1,000 scholarship to a graduating Octorara student who maintains a clean and sober lifestyle during his or her high school years, and it awards recovery scholarships to assist individuals who want to enter a sober living/recovery house.

The charity also provides small group programs for at-risk students in every grade level in the OASD, and it holds a weekly family support group, which meets on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at The POINT. Another effort, Kacie's Kloset, serves young women by providing formal prom dresses that they can "buy" with canned goods, later donated to the Octorara Area Food Cupboard. The charity supports two local recovery houses, one for women in Sadsburyville and one for men in East Fallowfield.

For more information and to register for the walk, visit http://www.kaciescause.org/mothers-day-walk. A link to register is also available at http://www.facebook.com/KaciesCauseParkesburg. Walk-ins will also be welcome.