Mother's Day Walk to Benefit Komen Foundation

It started “casually” with 25 walkers six years ago and has since grown to encompass several hundred.

Taking the lead from the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Mother’s Day run, Horsham mom Christine Mallozzi and other local moms opted to bring the Philadelphia race to their own backyards.

The moms put together what has since become an annual tradition, the Horsham Mother’s Day Walk.  

“We thought we’ll walk here but we’ll still send the money down there,” said Mallozzi, who of the donations, which are sent to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. “It just kind of took off from the Race for the Cure being on Mother’s Day.”

Before she and other Horsham moms had their children, Mallozzi said trekking to Philadelphia every Mother’s Day for the Race for the Cure was a tradition. Three of Mallozzi’s sister-in-laws had been diagnosed with breast cancer and one died at age 29 from the disease.

“It’s just a cause that’s been near and dear to me for 20 years,” she said. 

But, getting the local derivative of the Komen event off the ground simply made more sense, particularly for moms with younger children, she said.

The Horsham walk is held each year at Deep Meadow Park. Last year, several hundred turned out and in total raised $4,200 for the Komen Foundation, Mallozzi said.

“We started this years ago and it was so casual. We still keep it so casual,” she said. “There’s no pre-registration. People just come and donate the money.”

Since participants do not register in advance, Mallozzi said it’s hard to predict how many will show up. But, if her discussions with people who have reached out to her are any indication, walkers from Philadelphia, Quakertown and Collegeville may be joining her and other local walkers on Mother’s Day.

“Word has really spread,” Mallozzi said. “It used to be just local people.”

Mallozzi said she’d like to raise $5,000 this year and encourages each walker to bring a minimum of $10, but even that’s not a hard and fast rule.

“You bring whatever you feel like,” she said.

If you go

The Horsham Mother’s Day Walk will be held rain or shine on May 12 at Deep Meadow Park, 1020 Horsham Road beginning at 9:30 a.m. Participants should make checks payable to the Susan G. Komen Foundation as organizers do not have their own nonprofit, or affiliation with the Komen Foundation. For more information, click here to see the listing on Patch’s events calendar.