ALBANY, N.Y. -- A crowd of people, estimated thousands-strong, walked down Washington Avenue to West Capitol Park, all in solidarity with Women's March protesters in Washington D.C. and across the country.

Saturday’s "Inaugurate Resistance" march was sponsored by the Citizens Action Network and Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood. 

Organizers say their goals were focused on civil rights, religion, social justice and equality following President Donald Trump officially taking office. They say participants came from all different backgrounds to make their voices heard. 

Many of the estimated 2,000-plus people in attendance said they worrying the just beginning era could lead American society down a damaging path. 

"We think it’s very important that we stand up, be visible," said Ivette Alfonso, a protester. "The policies that are being rolled out by the Trump Administration are not acceptable to us. We feel all people have to be protected.”

“These are people who are now going to stay committed for the rest of their lives to make sure that the changes that are neccessary are going to happen," said Jamaica Miles, Citizen Action of New York.

Shari Piper was hoping to March in Washington D.C. with hundreds of thousands of people, but her bus, expected to leave Latham at 2 a.m., never came. She along with 56 others were left in the cold.  

“By 4:30 a.m., we knew it was going to be too late for us to get to D.C. so most of us went home and planned to come here today because we are committed to this cause," said Piper, a Delmar resident.

While Piper and others work to get their money back, organizers say they're confident this is the start of something bigger.

“This is the beginning of our movement together," said Chelly Hegan, president of Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood. "There’s so many people I’ve heard today say, 'I’ve never done anything like this,' 'I’ve never been politically active before, but I couldn’t just sit back.' Well, that’s absolutely the case. None of us can afford to sit back anymore.” 

Organizers say the size of the event exceeded their expectations.