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MT. VERNON – Dig out your dancing shoes, dust off your dance routines and join Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) for the 7th annual Dancing With Our Stars (DWOS) fundraiser. The event will be held at the Holiday Inn in Mt. Vernon on Saturday, August 22. This is the 7th year that GSSI has hosted this popular fundraiser to support its mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.
“We are extremely excited for our annual Dancing With Our Stars fundraiser. We have a great lineup of dancers so far; it looks to be the most entertaining year yet,” said Emily Kimmey, GSSI Director of Development.
This year, GSSI has teamed up with Centre Stage Studios to assist with the event. Shannon Owens, owner of Centre Stage Studios, has donated choreography services for a number of the dance routines. “Shannon is a fantastic choreographer,” said Kimmey. “We found that many people were willing to dance, but needed some help putting a routine together. By offering this option to potential dancers, it has helped us recruit dancers we may not have had otherwise,” Kimmey added.
To date, GSSI has nine dance routines participating in the event with dances ranging from Bollywood to Hip Hop and lots in between! Dance groups include Bollywood Twisters, Centre Stage Dancers, Centre Stage Moms, Lesa Woods, Dean & Carolyn Montague, Devin Riley, The Hocketts, The Drama Mammas and defending champions The New Evolution.
The agenda for the event consists of a cocktail hour and silent auction beginning at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the Celebrity Star Dance competition at 7:30 p.m. After the stars take to the floor, guests can dance until midnight thanks to DJ Fred Klapetzky.
Tickets for the DWOS event are $45, which includes dinner and an evening of dancing. Table sponsorships are available for $500 and include a table for 10 attendees.
Hosts for this year’s event are Brandon Bullard with Rare Chop House and Bria Ashby with Community First Bank of the Heartland. Celebrity judges for the evening are Mike Beard of The Insurance Store, a division of Dimond Brothers Insurance; Joe Gliosci of Peoples National Bank; Finny Mathew of Crossroads Community Hospital and Mary Beth Mezo of Smokin’ T’s BBQ.
Teams will be competing to win DWOS’ renowned mirror ball trophy by earning the top spot in a two part scoring system. The judges’ scores provide the first element to the dancers’ scores. The second element adds a dash of audience participation and even more excitement, as dancers can accrue points with each donation from their supporters. At the end of the DWOS competition, the mirror ball trophy goes home with the team with the highest overall score.
All proceeds from DWOS will be used to provide financial assistance to at-risk girls, to maintain and improve GSSI camps and to develop Girl Scout leadership programs for nearly 14,000 girls throughout southern Illinois.
For more information about participating in Dancing With Our Stars as a dance team or sponsor, or to purchase tickets, please contact Emily Kimmey at 618.242.5079 or by e-mail at dancing@gsofsi.org.
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois serves approximately 14,000 girls and 4,500 adult volunteers in more than 40 counties in southern Illinois. Girl Scouting has inspired more than 50 million girls and women since its founding in 1912. Girl Scouting is focused on providing a premier Girl Scout Leadership Experience for girls in the 21st century, while ensuring the traditions and values that have been core to Girl Scouting since its beginning remain strong and relevant.
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