Walk raises nearly $90,000
FRANKLIN. About 600 people take part in the ninth annual Changing the Face of Addiction Walk to benefit the Center for Prevention & Counseling in Newton.
Newton /
| 09 Aug 2023 | 06:00
About 600 people took part in the Changing the Face of Addiction Walk on Saturday, Aug. 5 in Franklin. (Photos by Kathy Shwiff)
Elaine Tizzano, left, of Franklin and Mary Burns of Stockholm founded the Changing the Face of Addiction Walk in 2015 after losing sons to addiction. Tizzano’s son George died in 2014 at age 27, and Burns’ son Eric died in 2012 at age 22. (Photo by RJ from Vernon)
Michele Wolf, the new executive director of the Center for Prevention & Counseling in Newton, is introduced at the walk.
Members of Team Assante were walking in memory of Danielle Assante, who died of an overdose in April 2022. She was 36.
From left are Nancy Bolton, Donna Rowan, Mark Lindsay Jr., Laurie Lydecker, Elaine Tizzano and Liz Carroll. The friends of Tizzano, a founder of the walk, have been part of it since the first year.
From left, in tie-dyed T-shirts, are Bella Luciano, Chase Diaz, Marissa Bonaparte, Eloise Demeter and Gia Gutierrez, all part of the Center for Prevention & Counseling’s summer youth action groups.
The goal of the walk was to raise $100,000 for the Center for Prevention & Counseling in Newton. As of 10:30 a.m., $87,000 had been donated.
The walk began and ended at the Franklin Firemen’s Memorial Pavilion.
Matthew Blomquist, vice president of business development at Alina Lodge, speaks at the event.
Members of Team Assante were wearing specially designed pink T-shirts.
iHeart Media’s 103.7 NNJ morning show host, Jim Borasio, speaks at the event.
Young volunteers at the Center for Prevention & Counseling cheer on the walkers.
State Sen. Steven Oroho, R-24, speaks at the event.
The number of participants has grown from about 225 in 2015 to 600 this year.
The four-legged participant also wears a T-shirt for the event.
From left are Marissa Bonaparte, Eloise Demeter and Gia Gutierrez, who are part of the Center for Prevention & Counseling’s summer youth action groups.
Children play with bubbles before the start of the walk.
The Center for Prevention & Counseling’s mascot, Rex-4-Recovery T-Rex, greets people at the walk.
There were various activities for children, including bubbles.
Children chase the bubbles.
The ninth annual Changing the Face of Addiction Walk, held Saturday, Aug. 5 in Franklin, has raised nearly $90,000 for the Center for Prevention & Counseling in Newton.
The nonprofit organization’s goal was to raise $100,000. Donations will be accepted through the end of August online at www.RecoveryWalk.org
About 600 people took part in the one-mile walk, which began and ended at the Franklin Firemen’s Pavilion.
Many of the participants were walking in support of or in memory of someone who struggled with addiction.
Paul and Jennifer Assante of Andover were part of a team walking in memory of his daughter Danielle Assante, who died of an overdose in April 2022. She was 36.
The team of 17 people included Danielle’s two children, who now live with their grandparents. Team Assante raised about $6,900.
”We love what the center does,” said Jennifer Assante. “We strongly support it.”
High school friends of Elaine Tizzano of Franklin joined her for the ninth year in a row. She is one of two mothers who founded the event in 2015; both had lost sons to addiction.
“The Changing the Face of Addiction Walk is growing each year. Our first year, we had about 225 people and now we are over 600 strong,” Tizzano said. “The walk began trying to change the stigma of this disease. Now we all walk together united together. We hope that we walk in remembrance of our loved ones and also celebrate those in recovery.”
Thirty-eight people walked this year in memory of George Tizzano, who died died in 2014 at age 27. The team raised nearly $3,200.
Before the walk began, co-founder Mary Burns of Stockholm told the crowd that she and Tizzano started the walk to change how addiction is perceived by many people.
“Both of us loved our kids. ... Both of us saw that their addictions weren’t just a choice” after drugs changed their brain chemistry, she said.
John Morgan, a Frankford resident who has been in recovery for three years, said he took part in the walk to be proactive. “I wanted to get out and show my support.”
He is looking forward to taking advantage of the center’s programs.