BEVERLY — Will there ever be an animal shelter in Beverly?

Medium Maria Halvorsen doesn't predict the future. But she does help people reconnect with loved ones who have died, and during "An Evening of Spirit Communication" on Saturday she'll be raising money for Friends of Beverly Animals.

Event spokeswoman Donna Corio said the grass-roots organization wanted to come up with a fundraiser that was "outside the box" and with Halloween approaching thought the evening would be appropriate.

They had heard of Halvorsen and asked her if she would be willing to donate all the proceeds to the Friends of Beverly Animals.

"I want to support something I believe in," Halvorsen said. "When you have a specialty or a gift, my business training is you give back."

Indeed, as a former employee "moving up the corporate ladder" at Commonwealth Institute, a Boston-based nonprofit that supports women entrepreneurs, she never thought she'd become a medium.

But about three years ago, she attended a service at the Swampscott Church of Spiritualism, which hosts a guest speaker, often a medium, during the last half-hour.

"She brought through a dear friend who was murdered on Easter Sunday when she was 15," Halvorsen said. "It gave me a sense of healing. She said, 'You can't worry about me anymore. I'm happy now.'"

Halvorsen started going back to the church and began meditating.

"I had no intention of getting into this," she said about her abilities. "I said I think they're kind of weird. But I started meditating, and it opened a whole new world."

Halvorsen never experienced anything strange growing up; in fact, she was more of a tomboy, running around and playing in the dirt. But she believes the ability has always been with her and became more prominent as she began looking inward.

"It's like a singer," she said. Someone can be told they have a beautiful voice, and with training and practice they can perfect their skill. The same holds true for psychic abilities, she said.

"Can you learn how to do this? Yes," she said. "But are you going to be an opera singer?" Not necessarily.

At the event Saturday, she's hoping for a room of about 200 people and will make contact with the spirits of people they've lost. Not everyone will receive a message, she said, but many people will.

Halvorsen also knows there are skeptics out there, and that's OK.

"It's not my job to change their minds," she said. At the very least, people can show up to see her in action and support the Friends of Beverly Animals.

"Beverly is at the point where they need their own shelter," Corio said. The city is full of dog walkers, pet spas and other businesses, but when the area shelters fill up, there are people who are spending their own money to house pets that have no place to go.

"There's all this animal activity," she said. "But nothing is being done to address the homeless animals."

For more information, go to www.friendsofbeverlyanimals.org.

Staff writer Cate Lecuyer can be reached at clecuyer@salem news.com.

If you go

What: "An Evening of Spirit Communication" with medium Maria Halvorsen to raise money for the Friends of Beverly Animals.

Where: Memorial Building, 502 Cabot St.

When: Saturday, Oct. 17, 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Cost: $40 in advance, $45 at the door