BUTTERFLY RUN HISTORY
The Butterfly Run Quinte
In 2016, the 1st Butterfly Run, Butterfly Run Quinte, was held in Belleville, Ontario. It was a powerful event that greatly exceeded the expectations of the founders, the Butterfly Girls.
Barb Matteucci is a birth doula who supported the other two Butterfly Run founding members, Beth Primeau and Loralee McInroy during their pregnancies and births. Barb was present during the birth of Beth’s daughter, Charlie who unexpectedly died during labour. She also supported Loralee during the births of her three children including Angel, who was born at 22 weeks. In November 2015, Barb was happily expecting her 2nd child when she sadly lost Baby Bean at 10 weeks. The loss of Baby Bean, Angel and Charlie had a profound effect on Barb.
Barb connected Beth and Loralee as a support for one another. From there they spoke about how they may be able to improve the experience for other parents. From here the Butterfly Run began.
The 1st Butterfly Run Quinte in 2016 was a huge success, raising over $75,000 for Quinte Health Care. The 2nd Butterfly Run Quinte occurred on Sunday May 7, 2017 and raised over $100,000 for Quinte Health Care. We were fortunate to be able to participate in their 2nd event! See our recap of the event below:
Barb Matteucci is a birth doula who supported the other two Butterfly Run founding members, Beth Primeau and Loralee McInroy during their pregnancies and births. Barb was present during the birth of Beth’s daughter, Charlie who unexpectedly died during labour. She also supported Loralee during the births of her three children including Angel, who was born at 22 weeks. In November 2015, Barb was happily expecting her 2nd child when she sadly lost Baby Bean at 10 weeks. The loss of Baby Bean, Angel and Charlie had a profound effect on Barb.
Barb connected Beth and Loralee as a support for one another. From there they spoke about how they may be able to improve the experience for other parents. From here the Butterfly Run began.
The 1st Butterfly Run Quinte in 2016 was a huge success, raising over $75,000 for Quinte Health Care. The 2nd Butterfly Run Quinte occurred on Sunday May 7, 2017 and raised over $100,000 for Quinte Health Care. We were fortunate to be able to participate in their 2nd event! See our recap of the event below:
For more information, please see: www.butterflyrunquinte.ca or visit them on Facebook.
The Butterfly Run Peterborough
The Butterfly Run Peterborough was formed by several community members who also wanted to help other parents and families. The Peterborough committee reached out to the Butterfly Run Quinte for advice and support. Quite supported Peterborough's efforts by sharing their name, the logo, other visual identifiers, and the knowledge they gained in carrying out the 1st run. The 1st annual Butterfly Run Peterborough occurred on Sunday April 30, 2017.
The 2nd annual Butterfly Run Peterborough took place on Sunday April 29, 2018, and was equally as successful as the first; the momentum continued as just as many runners registered to participate!
The 3rd annual Butterfly Run Peterborough took place on Sunday, April 28th and featured a new Kid's Chip Timed 1k Fun Run!
For more information, please see: www.butterflyrunpeterborough.ca
The 2nd annual Butterfly Run Peterborough took place on Sunday April 29, 2018, and was equally as successful as the first; the momentum continued as just as many runners registered to participate!
The 3rd annual Butterfly Run Peterborough took place on Sunday, April 28th and featured a new Kid's Chip Timed 1k Fun Run!
For more information, please see: www.butterflyrunpeterborough.ca
The Butterfly Run Ottawa/Gatineau
The Butterfly Run Ottawa/Gatineau was the 1st charity run of its kind in the Ottawa and Gatineau area. The 2017 run, also named "Aaron's Butterfly Run" was organized in honour of Rachel and Rob Samulack's baby Aaron Samulack (click here to read Aaron's story). In addition to Rachel and Rob's loss of Aaron, the couple also experienced a miscarriage at 10 weeks with their first pregnancy, and at that time, they were not provided with any resources in their community for pregnancy and infant loss. Following the loss of Aaron, they decided to organize a run/walk in October 2017 to bring awareness to pregnancy and infant loss in Ottawa and Gatineau.
In October 2016, Rachel submitted Aaron's story to the Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) network and saw a post on the PAIL Facebook page about The Butterfly Run in Quinte. Rachel and Rob were so happy to see that organizers (Barb, Loralee and Beth) of The Butterfly Run Quinte had such a great event to support pregnancy and infant loss in their community. Rachel and Rob contacted the Barb, Loralee and Beth to see if they could use the name "The Butterfly Run in Ottawa/Gatineau" - they agreed and provided the advice and support that Rachel and Rob needed to get their event planning started. Barb, Loralee and Beth provided continual support throughout the planning process! Many thanks to organizers of The Butterfly Run Quinte and The Butterfly Run Peterborough for their ongoing guidance and support!
Soon after the planning began, Rachel and Rob shared their idea with friends who also unfortunately experienced the pain of pregnancy or infant loss. From there, a small group of volunteers emerged who helped to coordinate Aaron's Butterfly Run.
In October 2016, Rachel submitted Aaron's story to the Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) network and saw a post on the PAIL Facebook page about The Butterfly Run in Quinte. Rachel and Rob were so happy to see that organizers (Barb, Loralee and Beth) of The Butterfly Run Quinte had such a great event to support pregnancy and infant loss in their community. Rachel and Rob contacted the Barb, Loralee and Beth to see if they could use the name "The Butterfly Run in Ottawa/Gatineau" - they agreed and provided the advice and support that Rachel and Rob needed to get their event planning started. Barb, Loralee and Beth provided continual support throughout the planning process! Many thanks to organizers of The Butterfly Run Quinte and The Butterfly Run Peterborough for their ongoing guidance and support!
Soon after the planning began, Rachel and Rob shared their idea with friends who also unfortunately experienced the pain of pregnancy or infant loss. From there, a small group of volunteers emerged who helped to coordinate Aaron's Butterfly Run.
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The 1st annual Butterfly Run Ottawa/Gatineau happened on Saturday October 14th, 2017. There were approximately 500 people who participated in the Run and over $30,000 was raised for pregnancy and infant loss programs Roger Neilson House.
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The 2nd annual Butterfly Run Ottawa/Gatineau took place on Saturday, October 13, 2018. In keeping with last year's tradition, we chose to honour new families for the 2018 Run. As you know, 2017's run was Aaron's Butterfly Run, in honour of Rachel and Rob Samulack's son Aaron who passed away 100 minutes after birth. In 2018, we honoured babies Charlotte and Théo, along with their families, and of course, all other butterfly babies who were lost too soon.
To learn a little bit more about Charlotte and Théo, head on over to our blog. We are very excited to announce that the 3rd annual Butterfly Run Ottawa will take place on at Aberdeen Pavillion on Sunday, October 20th at 9am! |
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Thank you for visiting: www.butterflyrunottawa.ca
The Brockville Butterfly Run
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The Brockville Butterfly Run was held for the first time on October 14, 2018. Co-chair Lesley Patry-Kerford participated in the Butterfly Run Ottawa-Gatineau in 2017 after her daughter Clementine was stillborn in May of that year. She knew that she wanted to find someway to raise awareness and support in her town of Brockville and decided that she would try and bring a Butterfly Run to Brockville. With the help of her co-chair, Tamara Baldwin, and a couple of other local women they have been working hard to bring together the run and build support in their community.
All information can be found on their Facebook page. |
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The Vancouver Butterfly Run
Vancouver has joined forces with the rest of the Butterfly Runs around the country and is holding its first annual run on October 5th, 2019 along South False Creek Seawall, starting at the Creekside Community Centre. Just like the Ottawa run, it will be a 5K/2K run/walk, and the money being raised will go directly towards the B.C. Women's Hospital. The mission of this run is to support women in the Greater Vancouver area who have experienced a loss during pregnancy, the loss of a child, pregnancy after loss, or who are unable to conceive.
More information about the first annual Vancouver Butterfly Run can be found on their website.
More information about the first annual Vancouver Butterfly Run can be found on their website.