SEE EVENT PHOTOS BELOW
ST. CLOUD, MN – The fourth annual Women’s Fund Presents: Dancing With Our Stars LIVE event was held yesterday, Monday, June 17, 2019 at the College of St. Benedict. The event raised $196,230 for local organizations that benefit women and girls in our community. Over 600 people were in attendance to cheer on their favorite dancers and charities. This year’s event once again featured a dance competition between six local celebrities who had 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.
Dancers showcased their skills to raise funds for their supported charity through the Women’s Fund Presents event. Final scoring for the competition was based upon a combination of judges’ score and dollars raised for the non-profits – 40 percent Judges’ score, 60 percent dollars raised.
Women’s Fund Presents is proud to announce the results from last nights event:
- Community star, Tanner Neubauer from Integration Fitness, along with pro Samantha Collen, danced to benefit Pathways 4 Youth. They raised $40,387 and took home the first place prize of $15,000 for a grant total of $55,387.
- Community star, Chris Owen from Deerwood Bank, along with pro, Rachel Trout, danced to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota. They raised $32,962 and took home the second place prize of $10,000 for a grand total of $42,962 awarded.
- Community star, Dr. Mary Beth Minser, along with pro, Dan Triplett, danced to benefit FACT Packs-Feeding Area Children Together. They raised $33,011 and took home the third place prize of $5,000, for a grand total of $38,011 awarded.
- Community star, Michelle Pape of Next Monday, along with pro, David DeBlieck, danced to benefit St. Cloud Area Family YMCA Supervised Visits Program. They raised $21,667 and took home the fourth place prize of $2,000, plus the judge’s choice award of $3,000, for a grand total of $26,667 awarded.
- Community star, Chris Jacques of Premier Real Estate, along with pro, Janell Missler, danced to benefit Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center. They raised $16,212 and took home fifth place prize of $2,000 for a grand total of $18,212 awarded.
- Community star, Melissa Blake of Coborn Cancer Center, along with pro, David Tuan Le, danced to benefit Coborn Healing Center. They raised $12,989 and took home the sixth place prize of $2,000 for a grand total of $14,989 awarded.
Note: these results are unaudited and dollars are continuing to come in for the charities. An additional press release will be sent out with total cumulative dollars raised for the charities and the Women’s Fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation.
About the Women’s Fund
In the past 10 years, the Women’s Fund has raised more than $1 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 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. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org/CentralMN
