With 52 team members beside her, Jennifer Richardson strode down the Ocean City boardwalk Sunday, part of a massive effort to try to raise $60,000 regionally for the fight against lupus in the annual Walk for Lupus Now.

It was the culmination of the effort by Richardson and her team, Jennifer's Lupies Groupies, who raised $4,300 so far, well exceeding her original goals of $1,000 and $2,500.

“It was a huge success,” she said.

From online donations to fundraising nights at Pat’s Pizza, Richardson has spent months trying to build momentum.

And she was able to enlist help from the students and faculty at Red Bank and Oakview schools, on top of those efforts.

“The schools were awesome with fundraising for me,” she said. “I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Fundraising isn’t over, either, Richardson said—she’ll make a push through September to try to grow her total even more.