Malden Resident Kate Weldon LeBlanc participates in the RESOLVE New England Walk of Hope for the Infertility Community

On Sunday, September 18, hundreds of men and women will be joining RESOLVE New England and RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association for the second annual Walk of Hope at the Endicott Estate in Dedham. Both organizations are nonprofits dedicated to education, support and advocacy for people living with infertility who are trying to build their families.

The Walk of Hope is the groups’ signature fundraising event: one morning to walk one mile to unite one community. The Walk of Hope recognizes the many ways in which families are built, supports local support services and programs for the 312,000 women and men living with infertility in New England, and raises public understanding of how the disease of infertility impacts families.

Kate Weldon LeBlanc of Malden is the Executive Director of RESOLVE New England. In her own words, she expresses why she is walking and what the Walk means to her and the infertility community.

“I have a confession. In early 2015, when I first heard discussion about having a Walk of Hope in New England, I was skeptical and nervous. Skeptical because I wondered if there are too many walks/rides/runs already in our area. Nervous because I was just days into my position as Executive Director of RESOLVE New England and taking on something big/new felt scary. (Let’s be honest, at that point, doing things that were small were still somewhat scary.) But then a couple very important things happened. It started with learning more about the existing Walk of Hope events across the country. First from our friends and partners at RESOLVE, and then by talking to Walk Chairs in other states (who I’m happy to say are now also our friends!). This information and these conversations led to an epiphany of sorts for me. Yes there are lots of other walks in Massachusetts that raise awareness and funds for different causes (and that’s a good thing of course!), but infertility did not have one. And it needed one! Because when you are struggling to build your family, you can feel so alone. Since infertility is often a VERY private matter, you may not realize how many people are also facing the same challenges. Becoming a parent does not come easy for MANY of us, and I really got so excited thinking about bringing this issue more into the light through the New England Walk of Hope.

My enthusiasm only grew during the event itself last September! The Walk has the perfect name because if I had to describe it in one word, the word would be hopeful. At the New England Walk of Hope, there were families like mine that had been built through many different (sometimes long, often rocky) paths to parenthood. There were awesome individuals and couples there still actively in fertility treatment. There were adorable fur babies. There were dedicated professionals joining together with the families they have served. There were babies wearing amazing shirts and onesies (my favorite “I’m a work of ART – Assisted Reproductive Technology). All of these people are why we are proud to partner with RESOLVE on the New England Walk of Hope. Why I walked last year and why I will walk this year and why I will walk every year that I can.”

The New England Walk of Hope is looking for walkers and volunteers for this important, inspirational and fun event. If you or someone you know is part of the 1 in 8 who suffer from the disease of infertility, please consider joining us on September 18. For more information, visit www.resolve.org/newenglandwalk or www.resolvenewengland.org.

I hope you’ll come join us!