Two Laps, One Purpose: Rally for Recovery to Celebrate a Decade of Hope and Healing

By Emily Wright

LOCK HAVEN—The spirit of hope and healing will fill Riverview Park on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, as the 10th Annual Rally for Recovery Walk event brings together families, advocates, and individuals in all stages of recovery. Hosted by Advocates for a Drug Free Tomorrow and the West Branch Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission, the event runs from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the park, located at 193 Farrandsville Road, uniting the community to celebrate those in recovery, promote prevention and wellness, and to demonstrate support for the recovery community along with those who provide prevention, treatment, and recovery support services.

This year’s Rally for Recovery is already expected to draw approximately 125 and 150 participants. The event will be both recovery- and family-friendly, offering a variety of engaging activities for all ages—from volleyball, cornhole, and giant Jenga to kickball, music, and an ice cream truck. Designed to encourage healthy bonding activities, the day also gives parents a chance to relax and connect with other adults while children enjoy crafts and carnival games. Beyond the fun, the rally provides a welcoming space for connection outside of formal support groups and services, celebrating both those in recovery and the dedicated individuals who offer recovery support services.

Initiated a decade ago in response to the growing presence of substance use challenges in Clinton County, the Rally for Recovery represents a culmination of local commitment and compassion.

Jennifer Reeder, BA, CAAP, CCSM, Assistant Director of the West Branch Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission and recording secretary for Advocates for a Drug Free Tomorrow, explained, “The Rally for Recovery is offered each year by the Advocates for a Drug Free Tomorrow— a community coalition in Clinton County with various representatives. The coalition started in April of 2003 when the now President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Clinton County, Craig Miller, was chairman of the board for the West Branch Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission.”

The Rally began as a modest gathering and walk at Riverview Park which later evolved into a race held in Wayne Township, but it ultimately returned to its roots at the park, coming full-circle. “There will be an untimed walk: Two laps, one purpose. However, the event celebrates the recovering community first and foremost,” Reeder emphasized.

Community involvement is at the heart of the Rally’s success, and organizers encourage local residents to participate as a show of support. “We would love most of all for folks to come. Showing up demonstrates support in a beautiful way,” said Reeder.

Sponsorships remain key to organizing the annual Rally. “All finances come from our sponsors, along with the support of the Sons of Italy funds that have been graciously donated to our specialty courts,” Reeder explained.

This year’s sponsors include several treatment providers, including Crossroads Counseling, Inc., Applegate Recovery, White Deer Run Treatment Network, Pyramid Healthcare, Gaudenzia Addiction Treatment Center, and Firetree, Ltd. Other supportive services have also sponsored the event, including UPMC Community Care Behavioral Health and Lycoming-Clinton Joinder Board’s Behavioral HealthChoices.

“Most exciting, perhaps, are the local businesses that, unsolicited, actually came to us with an offer to sponsor. Those local businesses include Brigandi, Gleghorn & Haffley, LLC, and Redmond’s Complete Comfort HVAC, [who] have sponsored for the last two years, both increasing their level of sponsorship this year,” Reeder said.

When asked about success stories or positive outcomes from participants or beneficiaries of previous rallies, Reeder shared that Advocates for a Drug Free Tomorrow uses its finances to offer continued support of its mission, and to date, the organization has approved 45 individuals for financial support for wellness activities such as gym memberships, emphasizing the importance of “whole body wellness.”

“Funds have also been utilized to honor the memory of Hope Mitchell, who, among her many contributions to the community, worked in the substance use disorders field for a time and was an active member of the [Advocates for a Drug Free Tomorrow] coalition for several years,” Reeder explained.

In Hope’s honor, one of the coalition’s committees—known as “Seeds of Hope”—recently donated 90 books to the Pregnancy Resource Clinic in Lock Haven to support her scholarship fund. The donation aims to encourage family bonding and foster early engagement in education, both of which Reeder noted can help prevent substance use and reflect the values to which Hope dedicated her life.

As for the most rewarding aspect of her involvement, Reeder reflected, “The greatest joy of the work for me is believing in others until they grow strong enough to believe in themselves.” She added, “By celebrating individuals in recovery, we acknowledge the incredible work that goes into the journey and their value as people, no matter where they are in that journey.”

In prior years, the Rally for Recovery was held at the Wayne Township Nature Park along the Creekside Trail, which features a wooden Sasquatch statue. That statue inspired the event’s new mascot, Benjie the Bigfoot, who will make an appearance at this year’s rally—a lighthearted symbol and whimsical reminder that, ‘We have seen firsthand the reality and the beauty of recovery. In that, we do believe!’”

For those interested in supporting the cause through volunteering or contributing, contact Jennifer Reeder at (570) 367-8670 or send donations to West Branch Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission at 124 ½ E. Main Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745, with a note designating the “Advocates,” “Rally,” or “Seeds of Hope.”

For the most up-to-date information about the upcoming Rally for Recovery, search “Rally for Recovery” on Facebook.

To learn more about Advocates for a Drug Free Tomorrow and West Branch Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission, visit https://wbdrugandalcohol.org.