30 Years Strong: From one mother to a movement that mobilized the city.

The Mother’s Day Peace Walk is an annual 5K walk and fundraiser held in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, to support mothers and families of murder victims. To date, it has hosted over 500,000 families.

The Walk began in 1996 as “A Mother’s Walk for Peace” by Louis D. Brown Peace Institute President and CEO Chaplain Clementina Chéry. When her son, Louis, was killed, she struggled to both grieve his loss and celebrate her living children on Mother’s Day. She chose to organize a walk in the neighborhood he was killed.

That single act sparked a movement.

As word spread, grieving mothers, their children, and entire families came forward—step by step—in a shared act of remembrance. Thirty years later, it has become one of the largest organized walks in New England and a signature event in Boston.

Funds raised from the Walk support families of homicide victims through the programs and services of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, including immediate and long-term care for survivors, youth and multigenerational arts/education programming, advocacy for survivor-centered policies, and reentry support for formerly incarcerated people.

For every homicide victim, an estimated 50-100 people are impacted. In the United States last year, approximately 26,031 people were murdered, leaving more than 1.3 million survivors to cope with the emotional, physical and financial trauma of their losses.

This toll ripples through families and communities for years, often fueling cycles of retaliation, violence, and addiction—and it demands targeted resources to help survivors heal and rebuild with dignity.

Now more than ever, your support matters. Help us reach our $600,000 goal to fuel a growing movement, deliver critical care to families impacted by violence, and strengthen a 30-year legacy of healing, teaching, and learning.