Dancing with the Stars - Looking Back and now Ahead!
Five years ago I was asked to
participate in an event that definitely got me out of my comfort zone. I was
called by Kevin O’Malley one day who asked if I would be up for participating
in the Arizona Kidney Foundation, Dancing with the Stars! Having watched the
television show a few times I thought, this could be fun and obviously a great
cause. Kevin called me like sometime in October and the event was in January –
plenty of time. Little did I know what I was in for! More about that in a bit.
Meanwhile, move forward five
years, and I come to find that one of my clients, Julie Van Etten, whom we are
designing a beautiful home in Desert Mountain with builder Richard Sinagoga of
RS Homes, has taken on the challenge back at her home in St. Louis, MO. Her big
night is this Saturday! I remember the anxiety and anticipation the day leading
up to the big event. So I am asking all of you to even make just a small
donation to her effort tomorrow night as small ripples combine to make big
waves!
Here is a quick letter from Julie
about the event:
Each year St. Louis
corporate and community leaders join an elite group for a once in a lifetime
experience – a fun and challenging journey that culminates under the bright,
white stage lights at Dancing with the St. Louis Stars, a benefit for
Independence Center.
Highly regarded as one of the most
unique fundraisers in St. Louis, Dancing with the St. Louis Stars offers a
night of entertaining dance performances by corporate and community leaders,
all in effort to raise vital funds for mental illness. I accepted the
invitation to dance and will rehearse and campaign for votes until
I debut my performance on Saturday, January 23, 2016, at the
Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis.
I am competing against six other
dance couples to fundraise the most votes (1 vote = $10) and each vote is
a direct donation to Independence Center. Please consider supporting me with
your gift of votes at
You'll be supporting an amazing organization that provides
hope and resilience for those living with mental illness.
As Independence Center’s signature
fundraising event, it is crucial to providing charity services every year to
people that are eager to restore their lives, manage their illness, and become
contributing members of our community.
Independence Center provides programs
and services to adults with severe and persistent mental illness such as
bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and major depression.
Their goal is to assist these individuals to live independently and with
dignity by helping them find work, pursue their education, secure safe and
affordable housing, improve their physical and mental wellness, and participate
in age appropriate social activities. Adults diagnosed with a mental illness
over the age of 18 may be eligible for services and once someone becomes an
active recipient of the program, they are considered members.
Thank you for your
consideration!
Your dancing friend,
Unruly Julie
Ok Julie – so I don’t know how
your lead up has been but teaching me to tango from October to January was
quite the feat! First of all they paired me with a professional dancer,
Gergana, from Romania or Bulgaria or somewhere over there! Well she was tall,
blonde and very lovely and so keeping focused on dancing was not easy but she
worked me hard and I met with her two or three times a week for three months.
Wow – is dancing difficult and what a work out! I lost ten pounds during those
three months – so that was nice.
Anyway, I made it through the big
evening. I didn’t win or even come close to winning the competition but I did
well and didn’t make an absolute fool of myself….. We raised several hundred
thousand dollars which was the best part of the event.
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