There was a sea of T-shirts atop a smattering of men wearing candy-red woman’s shoes at the government center in Monticello on April 20, as a healthy crowd turned out to raise money for Rape Intervention Services and Education (RISE) program of Sullivan County.

The registration fee was $20, and Richard Sush, one of the co-chairs of the event, was pleased with the turnout. He estimated the crowd of walkers to be about 200, which he said was pretty good for the third year of the event. More than $25,000 was raised from the event.

Sush said, “I’m very excited because this is certainly a larger turnout than we’ve had in the past. It shows that awareness of the RISE organization is growing. Unfortunately, the problem that RISE addresses occurs all too often in Sullivan County and elsewhere, so it’s great to see this kind of support.”

Among those who turned out to show support were Senator John Bonacic and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther.

After the walk, there was a picnic in DeHoyos Park in Monticello. The Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Sullivan Class of 2013 hosted a chicken barbeque fundraiser that added $10 per person to the day’s fundraising.