Walk with us. Say their name.
One morning each spring, we walk together through a Tampa Bay park in memory of the children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters we love. You don’t walk alone, and you don’t have to walk far. You only have to come.
A morning for remembering out loud.
After a child dies, the world often grows quiet about them. Friends stop saying their name. Holidays and birthdays pass without a mention. The Walk to Remember is the opposite of that silence. It is one morning when your child’s name is spoken, their photo is carried, and people who understand walk right beside you.
Our chapter first walked together in 2015, and in 2027 we walk again. Every step is a way of saying: this child lived, this child mattered, and this child is still loved.
You are welcome here
Parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends are all welcome. So is anyone grieving someone they love. You don’t need to be a member or to have come to a meeting. Your child may have died recently or many years ago, at any age and from any cause. Bring your family, your friends, your coworkers, your team.
What the morning will look like
Plans are coming together now. Here’s the morning we’re planning, based on our past walks. Times may shift a little once the date and park are set.
Check-in · 9:30 am
Pick up your T-shirt, your walk bib and your walk sign. Write your child’s name on your bib and pin it to your shirt. Find a familiar face, or meet someone new who understands.
Opening ceremony · 9:45 am
We open with a short welcome, and then we read our children’s names aloud. Send us your child’s name ahead of time, so it’s included.
The walk · 10:00 am
Walk the full mile or a short loop, at whatever pace your heart allows. Strollers, wheelchairs and walkers are welcome, and there’s no wrong way to do this.
Remembrance and activities · 11:00 am
Our children’s photos line the path, and a memory table holds the pictures and keepsakes families bring. Afterward, enjoy the raffle and silent auction, and paint a brick in your child’s memory for our butterfly garden.
Closing ceremony · about 11:50 am
We close the morning with a moment of remembrance, ending in a butterfly release, and time to linger, hug and talk.
Have your child’s name read
We want every child’s name spoken on walk day. Tell us your child’s name, and who they are to you: son, daughter, grandchild, brother, sister. You can also send their birthday and angel date, so we remember them in our newsletter and cards all year.
Already on our remembrance list? Your child’s name will be read. You don’t need to send it again.
Walk with us
Registration opens when we announce the date and park. Here’s what it will include, so you can plan ahead. Join our email list to hear the moment it opens.
Walk with a T-shirt · $45
Includes your Walk to Remember T-shirt and a walk bib to write your child’s name on. Every dollar beyond the shirt supports our chapter.
Walk without a shirt · $25
Includes a walk bib to write your child’s name on. Perfect if you already have a shirt from an earlier walk.
Walk sign · $20
Bring a 5×7 photo of your child, and we’ll provide everything else to make a sign with their photo and name. Carry it on the walk and take it home afterward.
Honor butterfly · $10
A butterfly released in your child’s name at our closing. Add one with your registration, or send it by Venmo to @TCFTampaBay with your child’s name in the note.
Order your T-shirt early. Shirt orders close about 10 days before the walk, and only a few extra shirts will be available after that. You can also register in person at check-in for an extra $5.
One registration per walker. Prefer paper? Download the printable registration form (see what to do when you’re done), or call Debbie at 813-690-4448. No family is ever turned away because of cost. Just let us know.
Walker agreement (required for every walker)
In consideration of being accepted as a participant in the TCF Inc., Tampa Bay Area Walk to Remember, I hereby affirm, acknowledge and agree to the following: 1. That I assume all responsibility for any and all damages to, or theft of, my personal property or any bodily injury (including death) that may occur to me, and further, I assume responsibility for property damage and bodily injury (including death) that I may cause to others, in each case arising or resulting from, incidental to, or as a consequence of, my participation in the TCF Inc., Tampa Bay Area Walk to Remember; 2. That I, for myself, my heirs, my executors and administrators, release and hold harmless from and waive all claims, damages, and rights of action, present or future, whether the same be known or unknown, anticipated or unanticipated, foreseen or unforeseen, arising or resulting from, incident to or as a consequence of, my participation in the TCF Inc., Tampa Bay Area Walk to Remember, which I may now or hereafter have against The Compassionate Friends, Inc., any business or companies along the route and any and all sponsors and volunteers for said event, and the respective directors, employees and agents of all of the foregoing; 3. That I grant the permission for use of my name and/or picture in any broadcast, photograph, video, or other account of The Compassionate Friends, Inc., Walk to Remember; and 4. That I am aware of the physical demands and hazards of participating in a walking event such as The Compassionate Friends, Inc., Walk to Remember.
A parent or guardian signs for walkers under 18. Every walker signs this agreement at check-in.
Walk with us from wherever you are.
Our Virtual Walk to Remember is for anyone who lives too far away, can’t walk the route, or would rather remember in a quiet place of their own. Walk your neighborhood, a beach, a park, or a place your child loved, on walk day morning while we walk together in Tampa Bay.
- Virtual walker with T-shirt · $50. We mail your shirt and bib to you, with shipping included.
- Virtual walker, no shirt · $25. We email your bib for you to print.
- Your child’s name is read aloud with all of ours.
- Share a photo of your walk on our Facebook page or by email, so your child is part of our walk too.
Or call Debbie at 813-690-4448 to register by phone.
Ask others to back your walk.
Many walkers ask family, friends, coworkers and businesses to sponsor their walk with a pledge in their child’s name. Whether you walk the whole mile or a few hundred feet doesn’t matter. What matters is that you came, and that your child’s memory walks with you.
Collect pledges online with our walk pledge and donation link (supporters choose the amount and add your name or your child’s name), or use our printable pledge form (download the pledge form). Checks are payable to Compassionate Friends of Tampa Bay Area Chapter 2407.
What to bring
- A photo of your child to carry or display
- A small keepsake for the memory table, if you’d like
- Comfortable shoes
- Water, a hat and sunscreen
- A folding chair, if you’d rather sit and watch
- Tissues, and the people who hold you up
Coming alone? Please do. Tell whoever checks you in that it’s your first time, and someone from our chapter will walk with you.
Be the first to know the date.
Join our email list, and we’ll send you the date, the park and how to sign up as soon as they’re set. You’ll also get our chapter newsletter every other month, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Prefer to talk? Call Debbie at 813-690-4448.
It takes a village to walk this road.
Our chapter is run entirely by volunteers, and the walk is our biggest event of the year. It’s also how we fund the welcome boxes, remembrance cards and brochures that reach new families. Here’s how you can help.
Become a sponsor
Your sponsorship covers the walk itself and keeps our support free for the next family who needs us.
Top logo spot on the T-shirt back, your banner at the start line, thanked in the opening, a vendor table, logo on this page, our newsletter and Facebook, and 4 T-shirts.
Your name announced at the butterfly release, logo on the T-shirt, a vendor table, logo on this page and in our newsletter, and 2 T-shirts.
Name or logo on the T-shirt (as space allows), on the sponsor sign at the walk, and listed on this page and in our newsletter.
Name on the sponsor sign at the walk and in our newsletter. In-kind gifts of water, snacks, printing and raffle prizes are welcome too.
T-shirt logos are due 4 weeks before the walk.
Have a table at the walk
Vendor spaces are $50, with a few free spaces for nonprofits who donate a door prize (about $50 value). Bring your own table, two chairs and a tablecloth.
Join the walk team
Help before the walk with planning, sponsors and promotion, or on walk day as a greeter, at check-in, water stations, the raffle or the butterfly release. Company teams are welcome. Or help lead it: our Walk Committee has nine roles, each with a partner, so no one carries it alone.
Give a raffle prize or donation
Gift cards, gift baskets, local experiences and services all help. Prefer to simply give? Give to the walk in a child’s name. Every gift welcomes a new family.
Your business could be the first name here.
Before you come
Do I have to walk the whole way?
Not at all. Walk the whole route, a short loop, or none of it. Many people come only for the names and the closing, and that’s exactly enough.
I live far away. Can I still take part?
Yes. Join our Virtual Walk: walk wherever you are on walk day, and we’ll mail your shirt and bib to you. Your child’s name will be read with all of ours.
Is the walk only for parents?
No. Grandparents, siblings, extended family and friends are all welcome, and so is anyone grieving someone they love. Many families walk as a group in honor of one child.
Can I walk for more than one child, or for someone who wasn’t my child?
Yes. Carry as many names and photos as your heart holds. Everyone you love belongs here.
What does it cost?
$45 to walk with a T-shirt, or $25 without one. Both include a walk bib for your child’s name. Walk signs are $20 and honor butterflies are $10 each. All money raised supports our chapter’s free programs for grieving families, and no family is ever turned away because of cost.
Can we form a team in our child’s name?
Yes, please do. Family teams, friend groups and coworkers are welcome. Many teams make matching shirts or signs with their child’s photo. Virtual walkers can form a team too, and ask family, friends and coworkers to back them.
Can I register on walk day?
Yes. Register in person during check-in for an extra $5. T-shirts on walk day are limited, so register early if you’d like one in your size.
Are donations tax-deductible?
Yes. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and every gift supports bereaved families in Tampa Bay. Gifts of $250 or more receive a letter for your tax records.
What if it rains?
We’ll post any weather changes on this page and our Facebook page, and send them to our email list.
I’ve never been to a meeting. Is this a good first step?
It’s a lovely first step. You’ll meet other parents in an open, outdoor setting, with no need to speak. When you’re ready, our monthly meetings are there too.
Everything you need, in one place
Please help spread the word: print the flyer and ask your favorite local spots to post it.
Three easy steps
- Sign it. Every walker signs the walker agreement on the registration form (a parent or guardian signs for anyone under 18).
- Send it, any of these ways: take a photo with your phone or scan it and email it to TampaCompassionateFriends@gmail.com · mail it to 310 Bryan Oak Ave, Brandon, FL 33511 · or bring it to a meeting or to check-in.
- Pay: scan the QR code on the form, or use the buttons on this page, to pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Or pay by Venmo @TCFTampaBay (note “Walk” and your child’s name), or by check payable to Compassionate Friends of Tampa Bay Area Chapter 2407.
We’ll email you to confirm. Questions? Call Debbie at 813-690-4448.
We need not walk alone.
From The Compassionate Friends Credo