The third annual Tammy's Walk was held Saturday to raise money for Toledo's Victim Assistance Program as well as raise awareness of domestic violence.
Tammy's Walk is held each year in memory of Tammy Macrae, who was murdered by her boyfriend Lawrence Jameson in August of 2007.
The walk is organized by her sisters Robin Bowlin and Kay Etue.
"I wanted to keep her memory alive," Bowlin said.
Advocates for Victims and Justice, an organization that supports those affected by violence, helped Bowlin and Etue during and after the trial and the sisters felt indebted to them.
They decided to repay AVJ by organizing Tammy's Walk.
"It was eating at me and my whole family," Bowlin said of her sister's death.
Planning for Tammy's Walk starts in the winter and goes right up to the day before the event, which always falls near the anniversary of her death.
Every year, the walk has over 100 participants and has continued to grow, said Areti Tsavoussis, Director of Toledo's Victim Assistance Program.
"[We are] hoping to bring more young women out of the closet to realize that domestic violence is a serious thing," said Sally Macrae, Tammy's daughter.
This year, Tammy's Walk managed to raise over $11,000. Proceeds from this event finance programs such as youth violence prevention, teen dating violence awareness and bullying prevention.
"[Domestic violence] starts younger and younger every year," Etue said.
The walk starts at the Walbridge Park Gazebo and makes a two and a half mile loop around the surrounding neighborhood and back to the gazebo.
According to Vickie Rios, a friend of the deceased, the relationship between Macrae and her boyfriend was "stormy."
Jameson held Macrae and her children at gunpoint before but she had gone back to him. Rios said Macrae had the ability to see the good side in anyone.
Macrae eventually decided to leave Jameson. When she did, he shot her twice: once in the back and once in the head.
When the police arrived to arrest Jameson, he claimed to have a bomb that he would set off if anyone came through the door. After a four-hour standoff with the police he was finally taken it to custody.
Jameson received life in prison for murder.
"We've gone through a lot, but we're going to keep on going," said Darlene Camargo, Tammy's older sister.
Camargo's nephew, Matthew Dugan, was a gas station attendant who was killed at the BP gas station on the corner of Secor and Dorr in August of 2008, almost exactly a year after Tammy was killed. Camargo hopes that Tammy's Walk helps quell not just domestic violence, but violence in general.
"Things you hear about on the news, you never think are going to happen," said Michelle Munoz, a Tammy's Walk volunteer.
Victims of domestic violence can contact the YWCA to receive help. The YWCA offers many services such as temporary safe housing, a crisis intervention hotline, and support groups.
The YWCA's battered women's shelter can be reached at 419-241-7386 or 1-888-341-7386.
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