Katie Pereira-Prebble and Zach Prebble's first son, Lincoln, would have turned five years old this month, but their little boy died just before he was born.
Since then, Lincoln's parents have grieved, and also dedicated themselves to supporting other families affected by infant and pregnancy loss. This year, the day after Lincoln's fifth birthday, they'll be celebrating the good things and also raising awareness around infant and pregnancy loss at the first-annual Lincoln's Walk.
Pereira-Prebble founded a fundraising charity called Links of Love in memory of her son, and has been able to take in enough donations to buy a cooling cot for the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital and for other hospitals as a way to give other families more time with their stillborn baby. Pereira-Prebble was given an Order of Collingwood for her continued work in the community around pregnancy and infant loss and supporting the local obstetrics units at area hospitals.
She and Zach have also welcomed a son named Parker, who is now three-and-a-half years old.
While the young mom has wanted to host a charity and awareness walk since she lost her first son, the timing hasn't been right until now. Lincoln would have turned five on Sept. 15, and the walk will take place on Sept. 16.
"We're coming together for a sad and unfortunate cause, and we want to raise awareness for pregnancy and infant loss and raise money for the hospital ... but the focus of the day, I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure there is fun," said Pereira-Prebble.
She set a goal for 50 participants for the first year and is pleased to see 57 people signed up so far. Each participant is asked to pay about $30, which goes toward a shirt that is handmade for Pereira-Prebble to commemorate the day. All the money raised by participants in pledges will be given to the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital's obstetrics department. There will also be prizes for participants who dress up.
Those interested in participating can register at anytime, though the cutoff for shirts is now passed, and Pereira-Prebble is looking for business sponsorships as well to help cover some of the costs of the vent, which will include lunch, refreshments and swag bags.
Those interested in registering or supporting the event can email [email protected] and can find more information on the Links of Love Facebook page.
The walk takes place Saturday, Sept. 16 at 11 a.m. at the Collingwood Amphitheatre park at the north end of Maple Street.
