St. Cloud, Minn. – The Women’s Fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation raised a total of $340,000 at their annual event, Dancing with Our Stars, which was held on Monday, June 17 on the campus of the College of St. Benedict.
The dollars raised at the event will positively impact women and girls in our community. A portion of the money raised was distributed to the six charities selected by our dancers and supported by their donors. These six charities are great examples of the diverse ways women and girls are supported in our community. The St. Cloud Area Family YMCA Supervised Visits program helps support women as mothers and caretakers of families, FACT (Feeding Area Children Together) helps girls meet the basic need of food to help them be successful in school and life, the Coborn Healing Center supports women as either cancer patients or caretakers of those with cancer in many different ways, Big Brothers Big Sisters will help expose young girls to the college experience as potential first generation college students, Pathways 4 Youth provides assistance for females that are experiencing homelessness and help them find the tools they need to change their situation, and the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center supports women and girls who have experienced sexual trauma. Each of these programs is vitally important to helping women and girls become the best they can be.
The remainder of the proceeds raised through this event are endowed by the Women’s Fund, providing annual grants to programs that align with the Women’s Fund’s mission of supporting girls, women in transition and elder women. The endowment fund ensures that there will be grants available for generations to come that support women and girls in the St. Cloud area.
This signature event brings together individuals, organizations and businesses who volunteer their time and money to assure it’s success. They believe in the power of women and they believe that by supporting women and girls, we are making our community better for everyone. Dozens of volunteers spend hours planning and preparing for over 600 people to participate and enjoy this event. It is truly this people power that makes Dancing with Our Stars such a success.
Caryl Turnow, Executive Director of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation, stated, “We are thrilled with the results of this year’s event and so appreciative to the dancers, volunteers, and community for supporting women and girls through Dancing with Our Stars 2019. These dollars are vital to providing support to programming that will be the game changer for many women and girls. Each organization/person that sponsored the event, attended the event, donated to one of the dancers or liked a post on Facebook is helping the Women’s Fund change lives.”
Dancing with Our Stars is a dance competition where six local “celebrities” chose a charity that benefits women and girls, are paired with a professional dance partner to learn a dance and raise dollars for their charity. Thank you to the following participants: Tanner Neubauer and Samantha Collen- Pathways 4 Youth, Chris Owen and Rachel Trout – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota, Dr. Mary Beth Minser and Dan Triplett – FACT Packs (Feeding Area Children Together), Michelle Pape and David DeBlieck – St. Cloud Area Family YMCA Supervised Visits Program, Chris Jackques and Janell Missler – Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center , and Melissa Blake and David Tuan Le who danced for the Coborn Healing Center.
About the Women’s Fund
Since it was established in 2002, the Women’s Fund has raised more than $1.4 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.
