Helias Catholic High School students raised about $975 for the Pregnancy Help Center in Jefferson City on Friday during the school's "pro-life day."
Helias students usually go to the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., which advocates for an end to abortion. The national march would have been Friday but was held virtually this year due to COVID-19.
Helias' campus ministry team came up with the idea to hold a "pro-life day" and organize its own march.
Students could dress down for $1 and walk a few laps around the track. All proceeds will go to the Pregnancy Help Center.
Students were marching on the track all day, Principal Kenya Fuemmeler said. Teachers could bring their classes down to the track to participate, and individual students could participate during a study hall or any extra time they had.
"We tried really hard this year to focus on all forms of life," Fuemmeler said. "We say, 'From womb to tomb,' an idea that we are marching for the dignity of every human life in our country."
Maureen Quinn, campus minister at Helias, said teachers taught their classes about the pro-life movement Friday and shared their perspectives.
Many teachers taught about the movement in a way that applied to the subjects they teach. For example, some history teachers taught their classes about the history of the movement.
Quinn said the school wanted to promote the pro-life movement from the stance of the Catholic Church by celebrating and advocating for life in all stages.
"We wanted to give them facts that give the truth of those who are struggling in our society, whether it's from human trafficking or abortion or euthanasia or capital punishment - any sort of attack on the human person," she said.