How to go
What: Community Pregnancy Center Walk for Life and Baby Crawl
Where: Smith Park, Middletown
When: Registration begins at 8 a.m., walk at 8:45 a.m. Saturday
More info: (513) 424-2229
MIDDLETOWN — Three years ago, Candice Keller, executive director of the Middletown Community Pregnancy Center, noticed many of the participants in the Walk for Life brought their children in strollers.
Since the event is “all about babies,” Keller delivered a new idea: a baby crawl over carpet. That first year, nine babies competed in two age divisions: younger than 12 months, and older than 1 year.
The winner that year was enticed down the track by a two-liter bottle of Coke held by his mother. Keller described the baby’s speed as “lightning fast.”
The baby’s mother now volunteers at the center as a peer counselor, Keller said.
Last year, the event was hampered by showers — rain, not baby — but still drew seven contestants.
“I was really surprised by the excitement it created,” Keller said.
The Baby Crawl is held after the Walk for Life. Keller said the walk is the center’s second largest fundraiser and typically generates $35,000 to $45,000.
Those who walk are encouraged to solicit for donations. Everyone who collects more than $100 receives a T-shirt. Proceeds from the event support the educational programs and services provided at the center.
Keller said the event will feature clowns, face-painting, singers and carnival fare, free food she called “all the good stuff.”
This is the 26th Walk for Life, an event that “gets bigger every year,” she said.
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