RUMFORD — River Valley Fight Against Heroin, a small group run by Sheri Blodgett, is holding a candlelight vigil, walk and bake sale Saturday.
The vigil will take place at Three Fields across from Aubuchon Hardware on Falmouth Street.
“Pastor Justin Thacker will lead us in a prayer as well as a eulogy for the ones lost due to heroin,” Blodgett said.
The bake sale will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. next to to the Thai Smile Restaurant in Mexico, under the old carport.
All proceeds from the bake sale/donations will go into an account at the Oxford Federal Credit Union for the group’s fight against heroin. Anyone interested in contributing items for the bake sale or donations is asked to contact Blodgett through the Facebook page, River Valley Fight Against Heroin.
People will gather for the walk at 2:30 p.m. at Three Fields. The walk will begin at 3 p.m.
“It’s just going to be a small walk along with the nearby streets, around Hannaford, and Cumberland and Waldo streets, then meet back at Three Fields, with a candlelight vigil at dusk,” Blodgett said.
It will make for a busy day, but, Blodgett said, “It’s for a good cause. I’m trying to get the community involved.”
“What we’re planning on doing when we get enough into the account is donating to these nonprofit agencies that are helping the addicts, as well as for a meal for these first responders. You know, they do a lot for these people,” she said.
Blodgett attended a meeting of the Western Maine Addiction Task Force in Paris on Sept. 9. She said she is looking to become part of the task force, which is a collaborative group of federal, state, local and county government officials, private organizations, community nonprofits and concerned residents who have a stake in the health and well-being of Western Maine communities.
Blodgett also noted that she’s bringing in someone to lead a training session in Rumford in January.
“It’s a free training, a 30-hour course, to learn to say the right kind of things to an addict who wants help or who just wants to talk because they just need to vent.”
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