Dancers dressed as zombies are set to shuffle through Michael Jackson's Thriller choreography at Genesis Health Clubs in Maitland this month, but the real story isn't the undead — it's where the proceeds are headed. Thrill the World Orlando is raising funds for the Pregnancy Center of Winter Park, a nonprofit that the group's own materials describe as existing to offer women alternatives to abortion.
A Local Dance Tradition With a New Beneficiary
According to Orlando Weekly, Thrill the World Orlando is scheduled to take place Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, at Genesis Health Clubs in Maitland, part of what organizers call the group's fifth annual Orlando event. Event organizers have said Thrill the World has involved more than 23,000 dancers and has been represented in 32 countries on six continents, with participants worldwide synchronizing their moves to the famous Thriller routine at the same moment, per the outlet's reporting. Separate listings on Eventbrite show a related advanced Thriller dance class scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23, at the same Genesis Health Clubs – Orlando Sportsplex location, though the connection between that class and the main Saturday event was not detailed.
Orlando Weekly reports that Thrill the World Orlando previously raised funds for the Give Foundation and The Lab Orlando before this year's shift to the Pregnancy Center of Winter Park. Organizer Scott Fijolek told the outlet that the group is continuing Michael Jackson's example of generosity and community giving. The publication says it received no response from event organizers before publication about why they chose this particular beneficiary.
What the Pregnancy Center Says About Itself
The Pregnancy Center of Winter Park, formally known as the Pregnancy Centers of Sanford and Winter Park, describes itself on its website as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit specializing in pregnancy confirmation and assisting people facing unexpected pregnancies. The center says it offers free pregnancy tests, help determining gestational age, community-based referrals, and no-cost ultrasounds to help clients make what it calls an empowered choice, according to its about page. The organization says it has offered free services in Seminole County since 1998 and serves more than 200 clients across its two locations each month, with its Winter Park site located at 1971 Lee Road.
Notably, the center's public-facing website does not openly share its anti-abortion views, per Orlando Weekly's review. That framing contrasts with the center's affiliated site, the difference is life, which states plainly that its centers exist to offer women alternatives to abortion by modeling the love of Jesus Christ through compassionate care, education and resources. The center's about page separately confirms it does not provide or refer for abortion services, the abortion pill, emergency contraception, or birth control. The difference is life is also promoting a 2026 Walk for Life to fund a new Winter Park Center, offering a $550,000 matching pool toward a $1.2 million campaign goal.
State Funding and Oversight Questions
The Pregnancy Center of Winter Park is one of more than 150 crisis pregnancy centers in Florida, which Orlando Weekly reports has the second-highest number of such centers among U.S. states. Crisis pregnancy centers in Florida now outnumber the state's abortion clinics by more than three to one, according to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Florida's 2026–2027 budget includes $29.5 million in taxpayer dollars for the Florida Pregnancy Care Network, the outlet reports, while a separate account from the Tampa Bay Times puts the program's annual state funding at about $29 million. Orlando Weekly's own reporting cites $29.5 million in Florida Pregnancy Care Network taxpayer funding for 2025 and says state funding for crisis pregnancy centers has increased more than fivefold under Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Florida Pregnancy Care Network administers the state's alternatives-to-abortion program, according to a Reveal investigation. That same reporting found the network introduced requirements for participating centers to share federal tax returns, year-end financial reports or information about tax debt, and that annual audits are required of any nonprofit receiving $750,000 or more in public funding. Orlando Weekly's review found that the Pregnancy Center of Winter Park and its Sanford location were not among the facilities included in the Florida Pregnancy Care Network tax filings it examined.
Licensing Concerns and a Stalled Bill
Researchers estimate that nearly three-quarters of crisis pregnancy centers nationally lack a medical license, per a 2024 study cited by Orlando Weekly, and unlicensed centers are not required to adhere to federal privacy laws such as HIPAA. A nationwide study examining the client-facing names of 2,633 crisis pregnancy centers operating in the United States in 2024 found that 16.0 percent used names presenting them as healthcare facilities while 12.6 percent used names categorized as unbiased and supportive of reproductive autonomy, according to findings published on ScienceDirect. Only 3.2 percent of centers studied presented themselves as both a healthcare facility and unbiased, and the study concluded that most crisis pregnancy centers offer limited medical services without being licensed clinics or staffed by licensed clinicians.
Amy Weintraub told Orlando Weekly in 2024 that pregnancy center staff or volunteers have in some cases contacted relatives of people considering abortion to pressure them against the decision. Democratic state and federal lawmakers have sought stronger regulation of crisis pregnancy centers, Orlando Weekly reports, and the Trump administration has prioritized expansion of the crisis pregnancy center industry and government support for it, according to the outlet. In Florida, state Representative Kelly Skidmore sponsored legislation in 2026 to end the state's program funding crisis pregnancy centers, telling Orlando Weekly that taxpayers should be outraged by roughly $29 million in spending on centers that do not provide medically accurate information. That measure, House Bill 6001, concerning pregnancy support and wellness services, died in the House Health Professions & Programs Subcommittee on March 13, 2026, according to the Florida Senate, without ever receiving a hearing.
