ST. CLOUD – The fourth annual Women’s Fund Presents: Dancing with Our Stars will be held Monday, June 17, 2019 from 5-8:45 p.m. at the College of St. Benedict’s Escher Auditorium. This year’s event will once again feature a dance competition between six local celebrities who have been paired with a professional partner for a chance to win up to a $15,000 grant for the non-profit program of their choice.
The competition brings together community members, centered around supporting a wide variety of charity programs chosen by each dance pair. All funds raised for participating charity programs are used to support the three focus areas of the Women’s Fund which are girls age 10-18, women in transition and elderly women.
Dancers for the event will be showcasing their skills to raise funds for their supported charity through the Women’s Fund Presents. Dances will range from the tango and cha-cha to swing and salsa. Dance couples will practice their routines beginning months before the competition. Final scoring for the competition will be based upon a combination of judges’ scoring and dollars raised for the non-profits – 40 percent Judges’ score, 60 percent dollars raised.
Women’s Fund Presents is proud to announce the dancer line-up for the 2019 Dancing with Our Stars event:
- Community star, Michelle Pape from Next Monday, will dance with pro David DeBlieck, to benefit St. Cloud Area Family YMCA Supervised Visits Program.
- Community star, Chris Jacques from Premier Real Estate, will dance with pro Janell Missler, to benefit the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center.
- Community star, Willow Sweeney Flaherty from Top 20, will dance with pro Dan Triplett, to benefit FACT Packs – Feeding Area Children Together.
- Community star, Tanner Neubauer from Integration Fitness, will dance with pro Samantha Collen, to benefit Pathways for Youth.
- Community star, Melissa Blake from Coborn Cancer Center, will dance with pro David Tuan Le, to benefit the Coborn Healing Center.
- Community star, Chris Owen from Deerwood Bank, will dance with pro Rachel Trout, to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota.
“Nancy and I couldn’t be more thrilled to co-chair the Women’s Fund Presents Dancing with Our Stars 2019. The excitement surrounding this event increases every year as the community waits to see not only who the community and pro dancers will be, but also the charities who will be receiving the grant money,” Trisha Hendrickson, co-chair of the Women’s Fund Presents Planning Committee stated. “Collectively this event has made a huge financial impact for the charities, which in turn directly impacts our community. We are offering a first-class show while supporting those in need, what a fantastic combination.”
About the Women’s Fund
In the past 11 years, the Women’s Fund has raised more than $2.5 million and established an endowment to support programs that serve girls, women in transition and elder women. Since 2002, dozens of organizations have benefited from the over $1.3 million in grants awarded through the Women’s Fund. Hundreds of community members save the date each year for the annual fundraiser.
The Women’s Fund started with a vision; a vision to help women and girls in our community live their best lives. We hope to empower:
- Girls with self-confidence, making good choices for their future;
- Women in transition by giving them the opportunity to pursue one-to-one mentoring, job training and education;
- Elderly women with access to health and fitness opportunities, resulting in lower health care costs, chronic illness, and a longer independent lifestyle.
The Women’s Fund is an initiative of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation.
Tickets to the event are $90 per person and can be purchased through communitygiving.org/events or by calling (877) 253-4380. Sponsorships are also available; please contact the Central Minnesota Community Foundation office for more information.
Link to photo for publication use:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/snmsqMG43GoRrnDn6
