ELYSBURG - Approximately $18,000 was raised Saturday during the annual "Walk for Life" to benefit the Pregnancy Care Center in Shamokin.
The one-hour walk, which involved approximately 300 participants, started at 10 a.m. at Pavilion U at Knoebels Amusement Resort following a prayer by the Rev. Ferd Madara, pastor of Calvary Bible Fellowship Church, Shamokin.
Walkers traversed three miles through the park under cloudy skies before returning for a free lunch at the pavilion.
Information brochures about the center, games, a balloon-making stand, door prizes, T-shirts, duffel bags and sport water bottles were available to participants and others.
Pregnancy Care Center Executive Director Margaret Conrad and Development Director Joan Duncheskie, who coordinated the walk, thanked all the participants, sponsors, donors and park officials for their generosity and cooperation in making the event very successful again.
Conrad said approximately 100 more walkers participated in this year's event than in 2012.
Proceeds from the walk benefit various services offered at the center including pregnancy tests and counseling, post-abortion counseling and support groups, childbirth and parenting classes, material assistance, adoption counseling and referrals, referrals to doctors and community service, relationship counseling and the "No Regrets" abstinence and relationship presentation.
The Pregnancy Care Center, at 150 S. Market St., Shamokin, handled 1,147 client visits in 2012, including 85 new clients. Spiritual discussions totaled 517, and there were 13 babies born last year. Twenty-one volunteers put in a total of 3,000 hours in 2012.
For more information or to volunteer, call center director Sue Klokis at 648-2600.