Walk for the Little Ones

The 15th annual Lights for Little Lives Memorial Walk will take place on Dec. 31 in Loma Linda. The Unforgettables Foundation has presented this memorial walk, candle lighting, child naming and award ceremony on New Year’s Eve for over a decade. Hundreds reflect and celebrate the lives and journeys of children who have passed, but will forever be remembered in the hearts of those who knew. “The Light for Little Lives Memorial Walk brings together families, friends and the community to remember the many children who have died too soon,” according to Chaplain Timothy Evans, Founder of The Unforgettables Foundation. “This event is another way the organization is able to further touch the lives of family members and loved ones in a caring way,” he said. “It’s especially satisfying to present the walk this year as we have now reached milestones like 5,000 families helped, 15 years of operation and over $1 million given in direct service to local families.” The event is free and open to the public as a way of remembering all children who have lost their lives. The Foundation also recognizes those who work to heal, rescue and save children. Three physicians (Amy Young, MD, Timothy W. Mackey, M.D. and Clare Sheridan-Matney, M.D.) will receive the Top Doctor Pediatric award for their compassionate care toward local children. Booker Huling of the Uptown Kiwanis Club will receive the Unforgettable Kiwanis Friend of Children award for his work getting dictionaries into local schools. The group assembles in the parking lot of the Ronald McDonald House located at 11365 Anderson Street in Loma Linda, across the street from Loma Linda Children’s Hospital, at 3:30 pm. Three mothers who lost a child will release a dove at sunset, joined by 20 doves in a memorial flight. Many say the dove flight, symbolic of a heavenly journey, is a key highlight of the celebratory awareness event. After the ceremony, a 3-block walk will commence led by Boy Scouts, children, physicians, firemen, funeral professionals, volunteers and faith community leaders. The walk continues down Anderson Street and ends at the Campus Hill Church where there will be a 45-minute ceremony of candle lighting and name reading. Numerous families attend this event annually to recognize a child who has passed. The Lights for Little Lives Memorial Walk and Candle Lighting was the very first public event created by The Unforgettables Foundation after a full year of serving families across the region. To date, nearly 5,000 families have been helped with financial and burial support from over 80 cities in Southern California. The Orange Belt Funeral Directors Association, various clergy associations and medical associations in the region collaborate in the celebration of children, in life and in death.