BEVERLY — It might have been the good weather. It might have been the pre-event publicity. Or it might have been simply the urge to help.
Whatever the combination of reasons, Friday's 30th annual Good Friday Walk was a big success. Five hundred and fifty walkers, an increase of 75 from last year, raised about $30,000 for needy people on the North Shore, according to Good Friday Walk president Alan Battistelli.
The event will end up raising more than twice that once all donations come in, he said.
"That's a big day," said Battistelli, the son of the walk's founder, the late Ray Battistelli. "Ray would've been happy."
The Good Friday Walk has raised more than $2 million since its inception in 1979. The money is used to help people pay their rent and utility bills, as well as for other needs.
Of the 550 walkers, 260 participated for the first time, Alan Battistelli said. Walkers were given T-shirts commemorating the 30th anniversary of the event.
The 11-mile walk starts at St. John the Evangelist School in North Beverly and proceeds to the First Baptist Church, the Church in the Cove, St. Margaret's Church in Beverly Farms and back to St. John's. Walkers were fed lunch at St. Margaret's.
Beverly resident Rich Donlon, a retired postal worker, participated for the 29th time.
"There were a lot of smiling young faces, a lot of students in the Beverly school system," Battistelli said. "We're seeing grandchildren of people who have walked before. It was a successful day."
Donations can still be made at goodfridaywalk.org.
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
