Around 300 people gathered Friday night in Valmeyer for a family fun walk fundraiser for local resident Sheila Middleton, who is battling breast cancer.

Friends of Middleton organized the event to help her with medical bills and were very pleased with the results.

Susan Unterseh, one of the organizers and a friend of Middleton’s, said they got the idea because they like to walk together and because Middleton is involved with the Humane Society of Monroe County.

“She loves to walk her dog,” Unterseh said. “When we found out in June that she has cancer, we wanted to help her because she’s self-employed.”

They knew it would be both logical and fun to do a family fun walk where everyone could be involved — even furry friends.

Unterseh and her friends ran the idea by Middleton, and after confirming that she was OK with it, they proceeded.

“One thing led to another: we got a team together and made it happen,” Unterseh said.

Though the weather was misty and cool on Friday night, they still had an excellent turnout.

“I can’t even begin to describe it,” Middleton said. “I had no idea about the magnitude of people because they had me blindfolded when I got there. When they took the blindfold off, it was just a sea of pink.”

Middleton described being “speechless” at the number of people who came out to support her.

“Once I started zeroing in on faces, I saw people I’ve known for years, new friends and people I didn’t even know,” she said. “I was just overwhelmed with the community and how they’ve rallied around me.”

The evening consisted of a three-mile walk with stops along the way.

Unterseh said since she used to have a store in Waterloo and participated in the Christmas Walk, she wanted the format to be a little like that.

At one of the stops, they had a fire pit where participants could make s’mores and roast marshmallows.

Another stop featured dog treats for the four-legged participants.

“Everyone kept saying it reminded them of Halloween,” Unterseh said with a laugh. “It was just fun and festive.”

The organizers wanted to make sure that 100 percent of the proceeds went to Sheila.

“At all five stops, participants had to have their cards stamped, and if they went to all of the locations, their names were put in a drawing,” Unterseh said. “We bought a pink treasure chest and each of the 12 organizers donated something for it.”

The treasure chest ended up being valued at around $300, so Unterseh took out some of the items and made them into separate prizes.

“I kept getting calls from people who wanted to donate things,” she said. “I never asked anybody for anything with this, but we ended up with 15 attendance prizes.”

The evening ended at the Corner Pub for the drawing, and Unterseh said the place was overflowing with supporters.

“It was just such a fun and festive evening,” she said. “It ended up being an amazing crowd.”

Though Unterseh said she would rather not disclose the amount of money raised, she did say the total exceeded expectations.

“Everything we raised went to help her with her expenses,” she said. “It really drew the community together – young, old, four-legged friends… Everyone really bonded that night.”

For Middleton, the evening was “magical.”

“An event like this really restores your faith in humanity,” she said. “I kept thinking, ‘Am I dreaming?’”