The Rotary Club of Cranberry Township will be hosting a suicide prevention and awareness walk along with a butterfly release from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the Pittsburgh Marriott North.

Shavonne Ayres, incoming vice president of the Rotary Club of Cranberry Township, said suicide awareness and prevention is an issue that hits close to home, and she has been organizing prevention and awareness walks for the club since 2016.

“I lost my cousin to suicide (in 2016),” Ayres said. “That year, our district governor at the time, Lee Weber, challenged us to create a new event that was a service project, and we chose suicide awareness.”

Participants will walk along a mile-long path on the trails at the industrial park beside the Marriott followed by a ceremonial release of butterflies.

“I was looking for a way for people who may have lost people to suicide to have, in a way, a rebirth,” Ayres said. “The release of the butterfly is a way for a light to come into the world.”

Ayres said participants will be given a package containing a butterfly along with a “little bit” of sugar water on a cotton ball to aid the insect’s journey.

“It’s really cool,” she said. “(The butterflies) will hang out with you for a little bit, and once they get their strength, they fly off into the world.”

Proceeds from this year’s walk will go to VA Butler Healthcare and Anchorpoint Counseling Ministry, a Pittsburgh nonprofit.

“This year (our current District Gov. John Marshall) decided to also give the proceeds to Anchor Point Ministries,” said Ayres, “so they can offer free support to those who may have a crisis or need to talk to anyone so that they are not alone.”

To register for the walk, call 724-444-1384.