It was billed as the first-ever Mother’s March for the Hostages in Marlboro, in support of New Jersey native Edan Alexander and other hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. Planning began just two days earlier, yet the Mother’s Day event had 40 people in attendance on Sunday morning.

“Do you believe in coincidences?” asked Dr. Rimma Chertog, one of the organizers of the march, along with Hal Crane. “The fact that Edan Alexander’s release was announced on the same day we walked for the hostages and their mothers is wild.”

The Mother’s Day march was so successful, organizers have decided to make it a weekly event, every Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. at 1979 Township Drive, as part of the Run for Their Lives movement. Participants, who can walk or run, are urged to bring Israeli and American flags, wear red and bring their hostage photos and posters, and their children.

For more information, go to Instagram @runfortheirlivesmarlboronj.